


AU in which everything is happy and they are all okay

by firefliesandstarlight



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, Destiel (Supernatural) - Freeform, F/F, Fluff, Found Family Vibes, M/M, Midam (Supernatural), Sabriel (Supernatural), at least i hope so, disneyland au, ish, kudos and comments greatly appreciated!, literally that’s all it is it’s just fluff, no beta we die like hunters, okay thats all the ship names i know of back to the regularly scheduled tagging, so forgive me if there are any typos, thanks yall :D, they all go to disneyland and have the time of their lives, they’re all human yall, this is the result of like 4 sleepless nights in a row
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:41:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24705493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firefliesandstarlight/pseuds/firefliesandstarlight
Summary: The members of what, in another universe, might be referred to as an unofficial Team Free Will— all seventeen of them— spend a day at the “Happiest Place on Earth”: Disneyland.Amid long lines and overpriced churros, the found family vibes are strong, because in this universe, everything is okay and everyone is happy.~~aka a disneyland au inspired by my own insomnia and my nostalgia over spn ending
Relationships: Anna Milton/Ruby, Castiel & Dean Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Charlie Bradbury & Meg Masters, Donna Hanscum & Jody Mills, Donna Hanscum/Jody Mills, Gabriel/Sam Winchester, Kaia Nieves/Claire Novak, Michael/Adam Milligan
Comments: 18
Kudos: 26





	1. the adventures begin, but only after you stand in line

“Alright gang, line up!” Jody claps her hands together and stares them down. “Come on, it’s headcount time! I know we’ve been stuck in that van for hours to get here, but you can do it, come on!”

“We’ll set you free in a minute,” Donna promises, and with much grumbling, everyone shuffles into a line, facing the train station, with Main Street behind them.

“Meg!” Jody says, reading off a list on her phone. 

Meg raises a hand, the other shoved deep in her pocket. “Yeah, here.” 

“You have your buddy?” 

There is muttering amongst the group, a few people switch places, and Charlie, now standing next to Meg, raises her hand. “I’m here.” 

Jody looks up and gives them her patented Mom Look™. Charlie takes Meg’s hand and holds it up. 

“I’ve got my buddy.” 

“Good!” Jody consults her list. “Ruby!”

Ruby pops a bubble of gum and nods. “Here.” Before Jody can say anything, she grabs Anna’s hand and hoists it high. “And I’ve got my buddy.” 

Jody smiles. “Thank you. Dean!”

Dean waves. “Here.” Next to him, Cas gives Jody a thumbs up, hand in hand with Dean. “Got my buddy.” 

“Alrighty! Let’s see… Sam!”

“Present,” Sam says, and Gabriel practically squeals. “And my buddy,” Sam adds hastily, grabbing Gabe’s hand and pulling him back into the line before he can run off. “Both here. We’re good.” 

“Thank you, Sam.” Jody makes a mental note to check in with Sam frequently to make sure Gabriel hasn’t disappeared. “Adam!”

Adam looks up from where he and Michael are sitting cross-legged on the floor, having a Very Serious Conversation about some sort of shark. “Oh, yeah. We’re here.” 

“Got your buddy?” 

Adam holds up Michael’s arm. “Yeah.” 

“Good. Jack!”

Jack smiles and waves. “Here!” 

“And you’re sure you’re good with tagging along with Dean and Cas as your buddies?” 

Jack nods. “All good.” 

“Alright. Uriel!”

Uriel, fiddling with the cuffs of his sleeves, snaps to attention. “Here. And so is Raphael.” He helpfully points to Raphael, who is enthralled with scrolling through something on his phone. 

Raphael has made it very clear he thinks that “all the fluff of Disney” is “overrated”. 

Jody shakes her head and checks off their names. “Claire!”

Claire, ponytail pulled through the back off the Minnie Mouse ears hat positioned jauntily on her head, raises her hand. “Kaia and I are all set.” 

Kaia, who picked out matching shirts for her and Claire weeks ago and yet still insists on stubbornly maintaining that it was Claire’s idea, smiles. “Yep, we’re all good.”

“Which leaves… you and me,” Jody says, turning to Donna and grinning. “Guess we’re all set, there, yeah?” 

“Oh, yeah, all set.” Donna kisses Jody’s cheek, and all fifteen of the still lined-up others make various groaning noises. “Oh, hush.” 

Raphael rolls his eyes. 

“Okay, everybody, I think we’re all ready to go!” Jody clicks her phone off and slips it into her side-purse. “Remember, hourly check-ins to make sure you’re all still alright. We set up the group chat already, so there’s no excuse to miss it!”

“What if we’re on a ride?” Adam asks, and Jody tells him that you can check in after as long as you say that that’s why you were late. Adam nods solemnly and resumes his conversation with Michael. They seem to have moved on from sharks to coral reefs. 

The line disperses, and the groups of two (excepting Dean and Cas, of course, who are also buddies with Jack) begin to disperse. 

“Wait, wait, wait!” Donna calls them all back and holds out the largest bottle of sunscreen anyone has ever seen. “Have you all put on your sunscreen? You don’t want to get sunburned out there!” 

“It’s Disneyland, not the sahara,” Claire grumbles, but she starts the sunscreen line, and soon Donna is satisfied that everyone has been sufficiently sun-proofed.

Gabriel takes off at a running start the moment Sam tells him his sunscreen’s rubbed in, and Sam chases after him, narrowly avoiding several collisions with strollers and other pedestrians. “Sorry, my boyfriend’s— sorry!— he’s really excited, he’s— that’s my bad!— never been here before—”

Meg and Charlie take off at a reasonable fast-walking pace, anxious to get to the Indiana Jones ride before the line gets crazy long or it breaks down, whichever comes first. Meg makes a comment about one of the shops they pass as they go down Main Street, and Charlie happily delves into Disney lore. 

“So, where do you want to go first?” Dean asks Cas, who, in turn, looks to Jack. Jack, excited to be there at all, much less have first pick of rides, pauses to think. 

“Can we get a churro?” 

Cas laughs, and Dean shakes his head and smiles. “Sure, why not? I think there’s a stand at the end of Main Street.” 

Claire watches them go, then whispers to Kaia, so nobody else can hear, “Ah, domestic bliss.” Kaia giggles, and Claire straightens proudly. 

“Castle picture?” they ask each other at the same time. 

“It’s decided,” Kaia says, and, arms linked, they begin their way down Main Street. 

Adam and Michael have long since left to “just explore,” as Michael put it. They end up wandering to the fire station first, and Adam explains the light in the window to Michael. 

Skipping up Main Street, hand in hand, Anna and Ruby agree to begin at the other end of the park, starting with Splash Mountain. The day is set to be warm, but despite the weatherman’s dire warnings and Anna’s gentle prodding, Ruby is clad in her favorite leather jacket, determined not to let a little heat ruin her aesthetic. 

“You’re so stubborn,” Anna says fondly, giving Ruby a kiss. “And I love you for it.” 

Ruby squeezes Anna’s hand. “And I you.” A couple sends Ruby and Anna a glare, and Ruby sticks her tongue out at them. 

“Wait! Oh my god, Ruby, we have to get these.” Anna stops in front of an innocuous hat shop, in the window display of which is a matching Mickey-ears-headband set. “Imagine all the homophobes we can spite! Plus, they’re super cute.” 

Ruby’s already pushing the door to the shop open and finding the set on a shelf. “You, Anna Milton, are a genius.” 

Moments later, Anna and Ruby are walking out of the shop, still holding hands, their respective outfits now enhanced tenfold by the matching ears they’re wearing: Anna, a Minnie Mouse bride-style headband, complete with classy white veil, and Ruby, a Mickey Mouse groom-style headband, resplendent with a little tuxedo bow tie; both are resolutely ignoring the fact that they are in no way married. 

Uriel and Raphael pass them on their way to the section of rides behind Sleeping Beauty’s castle, and even they cannot help but smile. 

“You have to admit,” Uriel says, watching the pair make their way through the crowds, easy to pick out by the headbands. “They are a nice couple.” 

“I would have to agree.” Raphael had put away his phone when they’d split from Donna and Jody, but he’s tempted to get it out again to take a picture of some of the reactions Anna and Ruby are leaving in their wake. “Despite Anna being our sister.” 

“She’s free to do what she wants,” Uriel says gamely, squashing down his gut response, which would have been “you’re right let’s go be overprotective immediately” (or some variation thereof). “She can take care of herself.” 

Raphael makes an agreeing noise and changes the plan, steering Uriel towards Tomorrowland instead. “How about we go to Space Mountain first?” 

“Hell no, I’m not waiting for a hundred and forty five minutes to go on a roller coaster in the dark.” Uriel points at the space blasters. “How about we go on those, instead?” 

After a few minutes of bickering, they agree on Star Tours as a compromise. 

Donna and Jody, left behind at the Main Street entrance, start walking towards Adventureland without even conferring first. They both harbor a deep love of the Tiki Room, which, as an added bonus, is also home to the one and only Dole Whip stand in all of Disneyland. 

“Geez, it’s so hot already,” Donna mutters, waving her map like a fan. “And the park’s barely just opened!”

“I know,” Jody nods, holding her arms out in front of her in a triangle in an attempt to peacefully bulldoze the crowds out of her and Donna’s way. “It’s already so busy, too!”

The Tiki Room waiting area is empty, save for a mother pushing a stroller back and forth in the corner and a couple sitting on a bench by the door. Donna and Jody head for the Dole Whip counter and order one to share; they have no doubt that they will be back, so they might as well build up to optimum Dole Whip consumption slowly, making sure to enjoy every last bite. 

“I love it here,” Jody breathes, leaning her head on Donna’s shoulder and taking another scoop of Dole Whip. “And we’ve sent the kids on their merry ways, so it’s just us for a few minutes.”

“It’s very calm,” Donna agrees, sitting very still so as to not accidentally disrupt Jody’s position. “The buddy system was a good idea.” 

“Aw, thank you.” 

The doors to the Tiki Room open, and a jovial voice welcomes them inside. Jody and Donna take their seats in the air-conditioned room, and though neither of them say it, they’re both silently considering staying in there all day. 

~~

“I hate it here!” Gabriel screams, hands up, hair flying every which way. “I… hate… thiiis…” 

“It’s just Thunder Mountain,” Sam laughs, chancing a glance over at his boyfriend. He’s just managed to grip the lap bar, knuckles white, and is doing his best not to look terrified. “Gabe, you’re okay!” 

Gabriel shakes his head furiously, voice wobbly as the chain roars beneath them, pulling their car up the biggest hump of the Big Thunder Mountain track. “It’s… it’s so noisy…” 

“You’ll be okay,” Sam says comfortingly. He reaches over to pat Gabriel’s hand right as their car reaches the top of the hump and is quickly pulled over it.

Screaming, Gabriel reaches over and grabs Sam’s hand so hard both their hands go numb. “A-AAA-AAAHHHHHHH!!”

The track rumbles, and they speed through a series of twists and turns that send Sam crashing into Gabriel, and Gabriel crashing into Sam, and the both of them crashing forward into the lap bar. 

By the time the car pulls back into the depot and the lap bar raises to let them go, Sam’s hair looks like it’s just been through hurricane-force winds, and Gabriel is paler than the crisp white of the ride attendant’s uniform. 

“C’mon, Gabe, we have to get off,” Sam says, gentle but urgent. “There you go, you can do it.” He’s careful to keep the smile from his face as Gabriel stands up and his knees knock together. “You got it, don’t worry.” 

Gabriel clutches Sam’s hand like it’s his lifeline as they walk through the western-themed gate and out of Thunder Mountain. “That… was… awful.” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Sam cheerfully scans the crowds, trying to gauge what ride lines near them are the shortest. “I love Big Thunder Mountain. It’s better than Space Mountain, hands down, and is easily the best roller coaster in the park.” 

“If you say so.” Gabriel stands up as straight as he can, and the color creeps back into his face, along with an eensy-weensy itty-bitty feeling of shame. “You know what, you’re right. That wasn’t  _ so _ bad.” 

Sam, looking out over the Tom Sawyer river, smiles. “You’re right. It was pretty fun.” 

“Yeah!” Gabriel skips a few steps, his usual energy flooding back. “Hey, Sammy, I can’t see above the crowds. Which way are we headed?”

The crowds are indeed quite thick, and Sam himself can barely see over the mass. 

“I have an idea,” Sam says. He pulls over to the side of the walkway so he’s not in the way and kneels down. “Piggyback ride?” 

Gabriel, delighted, claps his hands together and grins. “I knew I loved you. Can we stop for cotton candy?” 

“Don’t push it, Gabester,” Sam laughs, and Gabriel shrugs. 

“Worth a shot.” He climbs onto Sam’s back, and Sam stands up again with ease, not even bothering to hold onto Gabriel, who’s clinging to him like a koala to a eucalyptus tree. 

Gabriel, now a head taller than Sam and two heads taller than the crowds, points to the sign for Adventureland in the distance. “How about we head that way?” 

“Works for me.” Sam, now a true force to be reckoned with, walks through the crowd unhindered, and the pair arrive at the entrance to Adventureland in no time. 

~~

“Hey, I asked you when we first got in line if you were sure, and you said yes!” Charlie holds up her hands, the picture of innocence. “I can quote you back to you, if you want!”

Meg grumbles something about “not needing to hear my own words again”, but Charlie presses on anyway. 

“I said, ‘Meg, are you sure you want to go on this one? The line is ninety minutes long, and we both have very low attention spans unless I’m watching The Lord of the Rings or you’re poking fun at The Lord of The Rings.’ And then you said—”

“‘I’m sure, Charlie. I like this ride, and the line will only get longer,’” Meg sighs, leaning against the railing and looking as though her puppy has just been kicked. “I know, I know.” 

“Okay, just making sure,” Charlie says, swinging her legs up and perching on the railing. “This was your own fault.” 

Meg purses her lips and looks at Charlie as if to say, ‘You’re the one who  _ let _ me.’ Out loud, she says, “It’s been an  _ hour _ , though, and we’re still so  _ far _ , and there’s quite literally no light at the end of the tunnel—”

“The lighting is pretty bad in here,” Charlie concedes, hopping down from the railing and moving forward with the lines. “Reminds me of this one scene from LOTR where—”

“Shhh.” Meg presses a red-nailed finger to Charlie’s lips. “I know. I’ve watched those movies with you more times than Dean has.” 

Charlie sticks out her tongue and licks Meg’s hand; Meg promptly pulls it back and wipes her finger on her jeans. “That’s fair,” Charlie says, at the same time Meg cries, “Eww!”

They go on like that for fifteen minutes; the line inches forward, and Charlie distracts Meg with Lord of the Rings trivia and bad jokes about tunnels. Charlie gets on and off the railing intermittently; Meg just scoots along, annoying the hell out of the people behind them, who make snide comments that Meg uses as fuel to go even slower.

“Hey, hey, Meg, look!” Charlie pulls Meg off the railing, interrupting her newest snail-paced movement technique, and points ahead. “We’re almost there!”

Sure enough, the badly-lit tunnel has opened up into an even worse-lit cavern, where trucks fitted with lap bars pull in, swap out their passengers, and trundle away. 

Meg cheers. “We’ve made it, Charlie! My patience has been rewarded!”

Charlie looks at the security camera in the corner like she’s on The Office and says nothing. 

There are three possible paths one can take on the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland. One does not get to choose which path one’s car goes down, but Meg has, at one point or another, been down all three. She claims her favorite is the middle one, but Charlie knows that Meg really can’t remember which one is which at this point. 

In this particular instance, though, Charlie and Meg’s car does, in fact, go down the middle path, and Meg is thrilled. 

“Here we goooo!” 

Charlie shakes her head, smiles, and holds on tight to the lap bar. 

~~

“We should go on the Mr. Toad ride,” Jack says through a mouthful of churro. “Look how short the line is.” 

Jack, Cas, and Dean are standing just a few feet from where the path under the castle deposits into Fantasyland. 

“That is your favorite one, right, Cas?” Dean asks, already walking around the carousel to the ride. 

“I do enjoy Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride,” Cas says, taking a few quick, extra steps to catch up with Dean. “And Jack is right, the line is blissfully short.”

“It’s almost a walk up.” Jack tosses his churro’s empty paper wrapper in the trash and licks his sticky fingers. “I say we go for it.” 

“Mr. Toad’s, it is.” Dean makes a sweeping motion, letting Cas and Jack enter the line before he does. 

Cas hangs back, lets Jack go in first. “The car seats four, but we should still get one for ourselves even though there’s only three of us.” 

“Sounds good.” Dean takes Cas’s hand, and they walk in together. “Hey, Jack, is this your first ever ride at Disneyland?” 

Jack frowns, brow crinkling, then brightens and nods. “Yeah, I guess so! I’ve never been here before, and all we’ve done so far is get a churro!”

“Three churros,” Cas corrects, smiling. “You got three.” 

“Oh. Yeah, I guess I did.” He pats his stomach. “Best fourteen dollars I ever spent.” 

“You’re gonna run out of spending money really fast, at the rate you’re going,” Dean says, leaning against the concrete wall decorated to look like stone with gargoyles. 

“You’re one to talk, buying those shirts,” Jack retorts, not unkindly. “Though I suppose those are more useful than churros.” 

“You say that, but he’ll never wear it again,” Cas says, trying and failing to stifle his laugh. 

Dean lets go of Cas’s hand and strikes a pose. “I will, to!” The thin plaid flannel Dean is wearing over it does nothing to hide the full glory of the bright red shirt he’s wearing, emblazoned with a curly, stylized ‘Minnie Mouse’ signature and a polka dot bow. Cas is wearing the matching one bravely, with no extra shirt of any kind to cover it; his says ‘Mickey Mouse’, in equally stylized writing, and features a plain mouse-ears silhouette. 

“Will not,” Cas grins, and Dean grabs Cas’s hand and spins him. 

“I totally will. You watch me.” 

Jack moves forward with the line, and calls behind him for Dean and Cas to catch up. They do, apologizing to the people behind them for getting distracted. 

One of them compliments Dean’s shirt. He takes it in stride and thanks the guy, but when he turns back around, his ears are red. 

“Hey,” Cas says softly, and Dean turns to him. “Don’t worry about them. You look great.” 

Dean blushes lightly. “Thanks, Cas.” 

“Mhmm.” 

The line moves quickly—“My favorite part of this ride is the speedy line,” Cas says,— and when it’s their turn to board a car, they do indeed get one to themselves. 

Jack takes the front row. He’s ecstatic, bouncing up and down in his seat and pointing out every detail he notices. 

“Look at the knickknacks! And the painted brick, it looks so real! And the flames in the fireplace— are you sure that’s not a real fire, Cas?”

“I don’t think they’re allowed to have real fire so close to the guests,” Cas says, but Jack has already noticed something new. 

Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride is wild in that it is very short and very quick: just two minutes of twists and turns and surprisingly realistic boiler rooms. Jack is beaming so wide Dean is sure his face must hurt when they get off. 

“That was so cool! I can see why it’s your favorite one, Cas,” Jack crows, and then he’s off, running to a churro stand he spots across the square. 

“Do you think he realizes the churros are overpriced by, like, three bucks?” Dean mutters to Cas, and Cas smiles. 

“Probably not,” he says fondly, “but I think his favorite ride is Mr. Toad, and that makes me happy.” 

Dean squeezes Cas’s hand, and doesn’t bother pointing out that Mr. Toad is the only ride Jack has been on. The smile on Cas’s face makes him feel a new sort of warm inside—and  _ not _ the kind of warm he’s feeling from this ridiculously hot day— so he just walks. 

Jack comes back with four churros, and offers one to Cas and one to Dean. They both take it and thank him. 

Cas, personally, thinks churros smell better than they taste, but Jack looks so delighted to share his favorite thing in the world (for the moment, anyway) with them, and Dean has gamely eaten half of his already, so Cas takes a bite. 

The three of them meander with no real destination; whenever they come across a line that’s shorter than an hour long, they join it, and in that way they start to make their way through Fantasyland. 

~~

“We’re lucky we got here early,” Claire steps over a discarded cup, mindful to avoid the spilt mess spread out around it, “if the crowds are already this bad.” 

Kaia stands up on a short stone wall and uses it like a balance beam to avoid the crowd, arms spread wide. “Yeah, I can hardly see where I’m going.” 

Someone bumps into Claire, who scoffs at their lack of apology. “It’s not much better down here.” 

The stone wall ends, and Kaia jumps down. “We’re close enough to the castle, I think. Should we try and take the picture here?” 

Claire looks around. The crowd is thinner, here, and it does seem to be the prime picture taking spot; couples are sprinkled all around, posing for selfies. “Yeah, right here seems good enough.” 

“Your phone is better than mine,” Kaia says, situating herself in front of a bush and holding up a hand to block the sun from her eyes. 

“Yeah, but that’s only because you still use that old flip phone.” Claire pulls her phone from her pocket and swipes to the left, bringing up the camera screen. 

“I don’t see what’s wrong with my phone! It calls and texts, just like yours!”

“Yeah, but it  _ flips shut _ ,” Claire points out, walking over to Kaia and putting her arm around her shoulders. “There’s something that’s just inherently wrong with that.” 

“If you say so.” Kaia wraps her arm around Claire’s hips and smiles for the camera. “You have the castle in the background, right?” 

“Like half of it? I can’t get much from this angle while still getting the both of us in it.” 

“What if we…” Kaia ducks under Claire’s arm and pops up on her other side. “Is that better?” 

Claire swaps the phone to her other hand and holds it up, finger hovering over the camera button. “I guess? It almost seems like we’re too… close, I guess? I dunno, you’re the one who took the photo class.” 

“We could try… I don’t know, I’m out of ideas. There’s really only two positioning options for us.” 

“Fair. We could—”

“Excuse me?” A middle-aged woman with a toddler on her hip, her husband next to her, interrupts. “Would you two mind taking our picture?”

“Oh, of course!” Claire nudges Kaia forward. “My girlfriend is the photo expert. She’d be happy to!”

Kaia looks back at Claire, looking as though she’s both a tad bit annoyed and mildly appreciative of being volunteered. “Yeah, I’d love to! Do you have a phone, or…?” 

“Oh, yes.” The husband holds out his phone, and Kaia takes it and holds it up, portrait style. 

“Ready?” The family nods, and Kaia holds up three fingers. “I’m going to count down. Three, two, one… Disney!” 

“Disney!” the family says in unison, and Kaia snaps the photo. She hands the phone back to the dad, who takes it and puts it away without even checking to see if the photo has come out or not. 

Claire, seeing an opportunity, steps forward. “Would you guys mind taking ours, as well?” 

“Oh, sure! Nice shirts, by the way.” 

“Thanks! We match,” Claire says helpfully, gesturing to her and Kaia’s tees. Kaia’s reads ‘I’m her beauty’; Claire’s, ‘I’m her beast’. 

“They’re very cute. Ah, thanks.” The mom takes Claire’s offered phone and gives them a moment to get in position. “Okay. Ready? One, two, three!” 

The mom takes the picture and hands back the phone. Claire thanks her and the family walks away, leaving Claire and Kaia behind to stay and review the photo. 

“That actually turned out really well,” Kaia says, pleasantly surprised. “The castle is centered and everything.” 

“Glad you like it.” Claire shuts off the phone. “Where to next?”

Kaia considers. “Don’t laugh.” 

“I would never!”

“The Winnie the Pooh ride?” 

Claire, true to her word, doesn’t even smile. “That’s a great idea. All the way in Critter Country, though, so we better get a move on.” 

Kaia takes Claire’s offered hand, and they join the flow of people headed towards Fronteirland— the land between them and Critter Country. 

“You can look excited about it, you know,” Kaia says conspiratorially, and Claire shakes her head. 

“You said not to laugh!” 

“That doesn’t mean you can’t be  _ happy _ !” 

Claire giggles, Kaia grins, and they make their way to The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh. 

~~

Adam and Michael take much longer to make it past Main Street than the others. They stop at the Opera House and watch the regularly scheduled show, featuring a realistic animatronic of Abraham Lincoln presenting a speech titled “Great Moments”— or so the marquee says. 

After the show, which Michael thoroughly enjoyed and Adam found a bit boring, they walk through every single Main Street shop possible. Neither of them buy anything, but they have a brilliant time people-watching. Adam makes up backstories for the most interesting people, and Michael contributes by narrating their inner thoughts. 

Despite the early hour, Adam drags Michael to the ice cream parlor, and buys them both a cone. 

“I don’t really understand the appeal of these things,” Michael admits, watching a trickle of melted vanilla twist its way down his cone. “They melt so quickly, and the ice cream just drips out of the hole at the bottom, and you get a brain freeze almost immediately because you’re forced to take a bite out of the thing instead of savoring it slowly.” 

“That’s the whole point,” Adam says happily, rotating his cone in his hand so he licks the most surface area he can in the least amount of time. “The appeal is in the mess of it. Plus, you develop a certain finesse, over time and experience.” 

“ _ Finesse _ .” Michael gingerly presses his tongue to the top of the cone. This only serves to press the ice cream down and melt it further. “I just don’t get it.” 

Adam shrugs, popping the last piece of his cone into his mouth and chewing thoughtfully. “The ice cream cone is revered not for its elegance, but for its simplicity. One eats it when wearing clothes one does not care about, because if one is like you, one stares at the cone instead of eating it and gets ice cream all over one’s shirt.” 

“Oh, crap.” Michael shoves his cone in Adam’s direction and pulls a thick stack of napkins out of the dispenser on the table. “I actually liked this shirt!” He dabs at the stain furiously, going through napkins faster than Adam can say ‘ice cream.’ 

“I feel like this is, partially, my fault,” Adam says slowly, watching his boyfriend work himself up over a vanilla ice cream stain on a dark shirt, “And so I will buy you a new shirt. There are stores literally everywhere, I’m sure we can find something.” 

Michael looks up from his shirt, on which he has somehow managed to exacerbate the stain. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Adam says, standing and dropping Michael’s destroyed cone in the trash. “Yeah, we’ll go look right now.” 

“Okay.” Michael stands and follows Adam out of the ice cream parlor, napkins still plastered all over his shirt. 

Three stores and twenty-six discarded shirts later, Michael and Adam emerge, Michael in an overpriced navy jumper and Adam with one less year at the end of his life. 

“That was… an ordeal,” Adam says, hands in his pockets as they finally exit Main Street. “I had no idea there were so many awful kinds of shirts out there in the world.” 

“Me neither,” Michael agrees, still looking shell-shocked. “So many racks…” 

Adam cracks a smile. “So many.” 

Michael extends a hand, and Adam takes it. “Hey.” Michael smiles softly. “Thanks for putting up with my weird t-shirt preferences back there. And for buying me my new sweatshirt.”

“Anytime.” Adam cranes his neck to look at the very top of Sleeping Beauty’s castle, dead ahead. “Where do you want to go first?” 

“You choose,” Michael says without hesitation. “If it were up to me, we’d stay here and watch parades all day, but the next one starts in an hour and a half, so.” 

“Good thing the Dumbo line is only twenty minutes!” Adam yells gleefully, taking off at a full sprint for Fantasyland. 

“How do you know that?” Michael runs after him as fast as he can to try and keep up. “We’ve literally never left Main Street!”

Adam holds up his phone, and Michael can just make out a vaguely mappy-looking graphic. “I have the app!” 

Michael coughs out a laugh and runs faster. 

When Michael makes it to the Dumbo ride, he’s breathing harder than he ever has in his life. “How… do you… go… so fast…” He bends down with his hands on his knees, panting. “You must… really like… Dumbo.” 

“Indeed I do,” Adam says, bouncing on his toes. “If we’re lucky, we might even be able to go twice before the parade starts!” 

Michael straightens, a hand pressed to his stomach, doing his best to masquerade as a perfectly normal, respiring human who is not desperately out of breath. “Alright. Sounds good.” 

Adam grins. 

As it ends up, they’re able to go on Dumbo three times before the parade starts. Adam is delighted.

Michael doesn’t understand it. The Dumbo car is clearly not designed to seat two grown men, but Adam doesn’t seem to mind. He’s focused on the single lever in front of him. 

Over the course of the minute and a half long ride, Adam manages to fly their elephant as high up as it can go, pull it all the way back down again, and then repeat the process eight times. 

“That was the best thing ever!” Adam squeezes Michael’s hand excitedly, and Michael smiles. 

“I’m glad you had fun.” 

“It’s parade time,” Adam sings, practically skipping. Michael lets him lead the way to a spot on Main Street’s curb, where they sit and wait for the parade to start. 

It doesn’t take long for the first float to appear. Michael pulls Adam to his feet to watch it go by; it’s  _ Moana _ themed, in honor of Disney’s wildly popular movie, but there are an assortment of characters dancing in place on top of it. 

Over the Main Street speakers, music begins to play from the  _ Moana _ soundtrack. 

And Michael? Well, he loves parades, and Adam loves watching him. But as an added bonus, Michael knows the words to the song they’re playing. 

And he sings along. 

“Michael,” Adam says, stunned. “You know the words to  _ Moana _ ?” He shakes his head. “Wait, no. Scratch that. You’ve watched  _ Moana _ ?” 

Michael finishes the chorus, face alight, before answering Adam’s question. 

“I am begging you,” he says, turning to look Adam in the eye, “to never, ever, never tell anyone about this. I have a reputation to uphold.” 

Adam laughs. “Alright, but only if you promise to take me to Dumbo again.” 

“Fine.” Michael holds out a hand for Adam to shake. “It’s a deal.” 

Adam takes Michael’s hand and pulls him into a dip, planting a kiss on his lips as the parade ends and confetti falls from god knows where. Michael, taken by surprise, blushes bright red and stutters. 

Adam pulls him upright again, still holding onto his hand. He smiles. “Dork.” 

Michael, for the first time ever, can’t find anything to say. 

~~

“Ooh, I love this ride,” Anna says, clapping her hands excitedly. “The wait is totally worth it.” 

“If you think so, then I agree.” Ruby leans over and kisses Anna’s freckled nose. “Though you will never get me to say I like the whole getting wet part.” 

“Yeah, yeah, you’re a cat.” Anna reaches for Ruby’s hand and takes it, kissing her knuckles tenderly. “You’ll be grateful when you get splashed, though, since you insist on wearing your jacket even though it’s a million degrees outside.” 

“I have an aesthetic to maintain, Anna,” Ruby says, laying a hand on her chest and making a scandalized face. “You know you love it.” 

“I love my girlfriend not dying of heatstroke, is what I love,” Anna smirks. “Remind me again why you can’t just wear a vest and be done with it?” 

Ruby absentmindedly rubs her thumb over Anna’s fingers, thinking. “Honest answer?”

“Always.”

“I’m maintaining a streak.” 

“Really?” 

“Yep. Two hundred and seventy three days of wearing this jacket, and still going strong.” 

“That’s not true, you didn’t wear it last week when we went to the farmer’s market.” 

“Anna!” Ruby glances around, as if the people around them in line care that they went to a farmer’s market a week ago. “My aesthetic!”

“What, girls in leather jackets who insist upon dying of heatstroke when they’re supposed to be having the time of their life with their girlfriend at Disneyland can’t go to farmer’s markets?” Anna poses the question in a tone that implies it’s more teasing than anything else. “That doesn’t seem very reasonable to me.” 

“How long are you going to keep on about the heatstroke thing?” 

“Until you take off your jacket.” 

Ruby sighs. “Alright, fine. If it’ll make you happy, I’ll give it to Jody for her to keep in her unnecessarily large bag the next time we see her.” 

Anna smiles and kisses Ruby’s cheek. “Aw, thanks, babe.” 

“Hmm.” The line moves forward, and Anna and Ruby move with it. “Will we have to take off our headbands when we get on?”

“Well, we don’t want them to get wet, and if we don’t stow them they will, undoubtedly, get wet,” Anna reasons, reaching up towards her Minnie Mouse bride headband. “That’s a good point. To be honest, I’d forgotten they were there.” 

Ruby laughs. “They’ve melded with us. We are one with the heteronormative headbands.” 

The line passes in what is probably a bit longer than the estimated wait time, though it feels like much less. Anna boards the Splash Mountain log-boat first, and Ruby gets in after her. Two other people, presumably also a couple, take the remaining two seats in their row. 

“This is so exciting!” Anna whispers, tapping Ruby’s knee in anticipation. “I can’t wait I can’t wait I can’t wait!”

Ruby, having been dragged onto Splash Mountain more times than she can count, has developed a duck-and-weave technique to avoid getting splashed as much as she can when they go over the big drop; even so, she feels the unrealistic yet unavoidable anxiety swirling in the pit of her stomach. 

They’ve stowed the headbands, so logically, Ruby knows there’s nothing to worry about, but she’s nervous nonetheless. 

The drop looms before them. Ruby knows it’s coming, and so does Anna; she grips Ruby’s hand like she’s afraid she won’t ever feel Ruby again. 

“You good?” Ruby whispers, and Anna nods. 

“Golden.” 

They’re in the front row. The log-boat reaches the ledge of the drop. It tips, the descent begun, and then Ruby’s stomach is dropping and they’re going over. 

She hears Anna’s delighted squeal, and suddenly being drenched is worth it; their entwined hands are dripping wet from being splashed with water coming over the front of the log-boat, and Ruby feels relieved and glowingly adoring, all at once. 

“You’re adorable, you know that?” Ruby whispers to Anna as they dock back at the start and climb out of the boat. 

“I know,” Anna says happily, passing Ruby her headband. Anna puts on her own in spite of her straggly wet hair. The little veil sticks to the crown of her head, but she doesn't mind. 

They walk out of Splash Mountain considerably more wet than they were walking into it, which one might suppose is the whole point of Splash Mountain in the first place. Anna’s hair dries quickly, thanks to the omnipresent heat hovering around them, and Ruby takes off her jacket and ties it around her waist as a placeholder until they run into Jody and Donna. 

~~

The Star Tours line is horrendous. 

By the time Uriel and Raphael realize their predicament, however, they’re in too deep to leave. 

“How did you convince me to do this?” Raphael grumbles, gently banging his head against Uriel’s shoulder in exasperation. “It’s been  _ ages _ .” 

“ _ Me _ ? This was  _ your _ idea!” Uriel silently thanks the lord that they’ve moved inside, at least; the line is awful, sure, but it was even worse when they were stuck outside in the heat. “I don’t even  _ like _ Star Tours!” 

“Yes, you do! You’ve had those action figures for years!” Raphael says indignantly, moving forward with the line, even though it’s no more than two steps. 

“ _ My _ action figures?  _ You’re _ the one who’d always steal them to play with behind my back!” Uriel retorts, and soon, they’ve got a good back-and-forth thing going, with Raphael bringing up new points and Uriel decimating them in an instant. 

Before they know it, they’re walking into the Star Tours pod, clicking in their seatbelts, and managing to put those stupidly small 3-D glasses on. 

“Hm. That was a nice way to kill time,” Raphael observes as the ride begins, an animatronic droid spitting out a couple generic lines of dialogue to get the storyline going. 

“We’ll have to keep it in mind,” Uriel agrees. The ride begins in earnest, and they stop talking. 

Raphael’s stomach is in the midst of a full-on rebellion when he stumbles out of the Star Tours pod. 

“Oh, god. I’m going to throw up.” 

“Motion sickness?” Uriel asks, clapping him on the back. Raphael gags. “That’s an oof, man.” 

“I’m gonna go outside,” Raphael says, and then he’s sprinting, hands wrapped around his stomach, fleeing towards the sunlight like a disillusioned moth. 

“Have fun with that.” Uriel strolls out of the ride’s hallway and takes his time browsing in the gift shop. A few times, he genuinely considers making a purchase, but one look at the price tag and he sends the merchandise back to whatever shelf or rack it came from. 

After a while, Uriel figures he should probably go look for Raphael, so he leaves the shop behind and enters the wild wild world of the Tomorrowland square. 

It takes ten minutes and a few awkward encounters with people he hopes he never has to interact with again, but Uriel finds Raphael. He’s sitting on a stone bench next to a trash can, still looking decidedly queasy. 

“You alright?” Uriel asks, though he can already tell the answer. 

Raphael makes a noncommittal noise. 

“I figured. Those 3-D screens can be a bitch.” 

“Yeah. I just need a minute, I think.” 

“Okay.” 

They sit in silence for a while, Uriel watching the people go by and the pigeons bouncing around the square, Raphael slowly coming back to a feeling of not-suckiness. 

“I have a question,” Raphael says, breaking their silence. “Well, it’s not really a question, but I’m wondering something.” 

“Yeah?” 

“See these trash cans?” 

Uriel turns to look at the trash can. “Yeah.” 

“Why do the signs on them say ‘waste please’? Why don’t they say ‘waste here’ or ‘waste container’ or something? ‘Waste please’ can be very easily misinterpreted.” 

Uriel snorts with laughter as he catches Raphael’s meaning. “You mean, why is Disney Parks actively endorsing littering?” 

“Yeah!” Raphael says, and they both burst out laughing. 

“I’m in the mood for some lunch,” Uriel says eventually, standing up. “How about you?” 

“I hear that.” Standing, Raphael surveys the immediate dining options and shakes his head dismissively. “How about we hit a concessions cart?” 

“Sounds good to me.” 

“I saw one back when we were crossing over the edge of Fantasyland.” 

“Then to Fantasyland we go.” 


	2. the adventures continue, sponsored by churros™

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks so much for reading! 
> 
> this is mostly a filler chapter of fluff. hope u like it :D

“They haven’t checked in yet, have they?” Donna asks Jody as they walk out of the Tiki Room waiting area, though she already knows the answer. 

Jody shoves her phone into her pocket and looks at Donna, clearly worried. “What makes you say that?” 

“It’s just that you’ve checked your phone seventeen times in the last three minutes—”

“You counted?” 

“—and it’s been an hour and forty five since we set them free, so, logically. I just thought.” Donna takes Jody’s hand and holds it tight. “Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ve just forgotten.” 

Right on cue, Jody’s phone buzzes. 

“See? I bet that’s one of them now.” 

Jody opens her phone and taps on the notification she’s received. Sure enough, Adam’s texted the group chat, letting Jody and Donna know that he and Michael are alright. 

**_adam m:_ ** _ [image.png] _

**_adam m:_ ** _ sorry we’re late! as you can see from the picture we were watching the parade, and michael _

The text ends mid sentence, though there’s still a ‘typing’ bubble at the bottom of the screen. Donna, looking over Jody’s shoulder at the texts, is about to say that he must’ve dropped his phone or something when the rest of the text comes through. 

**_adam m:_ ** _ michael refuses to let me finish that sentence but the bottom line is i couldn’t take my eyes off him for one moment so that’s why we’re checking in late mb _

Donna snorts. “I bet Michael sang along.” 

Jody barks out a laugh. “Oh, god, you’re right, he totally did.” 

By the time Jody types out ‘It’s okay, thanks for checking in!’ and presses send, Charlie’s checked in, too.

**_myonlyhope:_ ** _ o sorry Jody meg and i were in line for indiana jones and i completely forgot  _

**_myonlyhope:_ ** _ we’re all good too. indiana jones was great we got thru before it broke down _

Meg adds on to Charlie’s comment. 

**_megara:_ ** _ it was totally rad dude we got the middle path  _

**_megara:_ ** _ which everyone knows is the best one  _

**_megara:_ ** _ gabe i can see u opening ur mouth to disagree w me shut it _

“Hey! Jody!” 

Jody and Donna turn around in sync, Jody still holding her phone open in one hand. “Sam! Gabe! Fancy meeting you here.” 

“Hey-o,” Gabriel says with a wave. Sam walks up next to where Donna and Jody are standing, off to the side and out of the way of the crowds, and stops. 

“How’s Adventureland? Gabe and I just came from Big Thunder Mountain—”

“Which I completely loved and would happily ride again,” Gabe interjects. 

Sam rolls his eyes. “He was very brave. But it was pretty busy over there. Same for you, or have you been avoiding the rides?” 

Donna motions to the Tiki Room sign behind her. “We’ve just done the lovely air-conditioned, sit-down, peaceful, entertaining show back there a few times.” 

“Ah,” Sam says with an understanding nod. “Got it.” 

“What’re, um. What’ve you two got going here?” Jody asks, gesturing to, well, to Sam, mostly, but Sam catches her meaning. 

“Gabe couldn’t see,” he explains simply. 

“It’s true. Plus I really really wanted cotton candy—”

“—it was getting to be ridiculous—”

“—so Sam volunteered, and we fixed all the problems we faced in one fell swoop!” Gabriel finishes dramatically, with a sweep of his arm. 

“Hmm.” Jody holds up her phone. “And you didn’t check in because…?” 

“Oh, crap, Jody, I completely forgot. I’m so sorry.” Sam looks over to Donna, who’s looking bemused at the piggyback situation. “Was she freaking out?” 

“As of yet, only Adam, Michael, Charlie, and Meg have texted,” Donna says. “And we’ve seen you two in person, so that counts for something.” 

“I think Team Domesticity has checked in, too.” Gabriel points around Sam’s head, to Jody’s still-open phone. “If I’m reading that right.” 

**_holyhell:_ ** _ jack and cas and i are all good _

**_holyhell:_ ** _ though jack’s just bought his 22nd churro of the morning  _

**_holyhell:_ ** _ thats got to be a record does the guinness place have a category for most overpriced churros purchased in two hours _

**_holyhell:_ ** _ if so jack wins _

Sam can’t help but smile. “Gabe, you owe me five bucks.” 

“What! No! Our bet specifically said that you only win if he buys over twenty churros in less than two hours, and Dean said it’s been two on the dot.” Gabriel leans over Sam’s shoulder so he can see his face. “So  _ you _ owe  _ me _ .” 

“Nuh-uh. Dean’s rounding. It’s really only been—” Sam flips his wrist up to check his watch. “One hour and fifty one minutes since the timer started. Less than two hours. Gimme my money.” 

“Hey! Objection! Court files for mistrial!” 

“That’s not how it works, Gabe,” Sam laughs, as Gabriel wriggles his way down and off Sam’s back so he’s standing on his own two feet again. 

Gabriel sighs and holds on to Sam’s forearm, sticking out his bottom lip and pouting. “I have no cash, Sammy, I got nothin’. Take pity on a poor old geezer like meself and forgive thy debt.” 

“Gabe, I saw you get two hundred bucks in cash from an ATM before we got here. I know you have  _ something _ .” 

“Fine.”

“You know what, I’ll be nice.” 

Gabriel perks up, but his hopes are quickly squashed. 

“Buy me a churro and I’ll forgive the extra twenty five cents.” 

“Meanie!” Gabriel pulls his wallet out of nowhere and hands Sam a crinkled five dollar bill. “Might as well just give it to you.” 

“Exactly.” Sam takes the bill with a smirk and shoves it in his pocket. “Jody, Donna, we’re headed to Fantasyland. The carousel awaits.” 

“Have fun,” Jody smiles, and Donna waves. Sam squats, and Gabriel gets back on his back. They walk away, still bickering over the outcome of the bet. 

Just as Sam and Gabriel disappear into the crowd, Jody’s phone buzzes. 

**_thetrickster:_ ** _ meg it is common knowledge that the left path is the best  _

**_thetrickster:_ ** _ ive never even been on the ride and even i know that _

Meg responds before Jody and Donna have finished reading Gabe’s message. 

**_megara:_ ** _ that literally makes no sense smh go on the ride as many times as i have and then we’ll talk _

**_thetrickster:_ ** _ sam turn around we have to go to the indiana jones ride _

**_thetrickster:_ ** _ what do u mean “its broken” meg just went on it  _

**_megara:_ ** _ mwhahaha the bad engineering of the indiana jones ride has thwarted u once and for all  _

**_thetrickster:_ ** _ stfu meg i will ride it one day. u’ll see. i will ride the indiana jones ride and i will be proven right  _

**_megara:_ ** _ if u say so _

~~

“You checked in with Jody, right?” Anna asks Ruby absentmindedly, her attention tied up in licking a yellow popsicle riddled with freezer burn. 

“Mhmm, I did that,” Ruby says, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly and blushing. “I did that right when we were supposed to, you know me. On a completely unrelated note, please hold my popsicle while I get my phone out.” 

“Ruby!” Anna chides, but she takes Ruby’s popsicle nonetheless. “Jody’s going to kill us.” 

“We can’t be the only ones who forgot.” Ruby scrolls through the messages she missed and reads a few of the highlights aloud to Anna. “See, even Adam was late.” 

“And you’re sure Raph and Uriel and Claire and Kaia haven’t checked in yet?” 

“I’m sure.” 

“So we’re not the last ones.” 

“We are not the last ones,” Ruby confirms, and Anna sighs in relief. 

“Good.” 

**_dressedlikeadaydream:_ ** _ anna n i are good  _

**_dressedlikeadaydream:_ ** _ wetter than we were a few mins ago but good  _

**_dressedlikeadaydream:_ ** _ splash mtn line ran long sorry didnt realize time passed so fast _

Ruby waits until she sees Jody’s acknowledging text before she puts her phone away and takes her popsicle back from Anna. 

“So, where are we headed next?” 

Anna gently gnaws at the side of her popsicle. “Didn’t you say you were getting hungry? Hungrier than a popsicle will fix, I mean.” 

“Okay true, but the thing I’m hungry for isn’t exactly a food for this time of day.” 

“You mean you can’t eat gumbo in the mid-morning, only two hours after the park has opened?” Anna says innocently, and Ruby stops walking and chuckles disbelievingly. 

“How did you know?” 

Anna casts Ruby a ‘you’re really asking me that?’ look. “I know you, Ruby, and I have had to live with your weird thing for gumbo for years now. Listen, there’s a Princess and the Frog themed restaurant up ahead. I bet they have gumbo, and at this time of day there won’t be a wait.” 

Ruby closes the distance between her and Anna with a kiss. “You, madam, complete me.” 

“And you me,” Anna murmurs. 

The walk to the restaurant is not long, nor does it require a lot of bobbing and weaving in and out of crowds, but Ruby still doesn’t notice her phone vibrate against her thigh. 

It’s a text to the group chat, from Claire. 

**_beast2herbeauty:_ ** _ did kaia and i just see u walk into a restaurant at barely 10 am @ruby @anna or r we hallucinating _

**_beast2herbeauty:_ ** _ if it was u guys those headbands r really cute kudos  _

~~

Claire and Kaia made it to the Winnie The Pooh ride in record time. An almost completely cross-park trip, from just outside Fantasyland to Critter Country, and it only took them twenty minutes. 

The line for the Winnie The Pooh ride was long, for the ride being what it was. Kaia, however, did not care that they would have to wait an hour for it, so Claire stood in line diligently, and they talked about everything and nothing for a while. 

“Thank you,” Kaia piped up suddenly, after a break in their conversation turned into a few minutes of silence— or as silent as Disneyland can be for a person, seeing as the people all around them were still quite happily making lots of noise. 

“For what?” 

“Waiting in this line with me,” Kaia said earnestly. “I know you hate standing in lines like this, but I appreciate it.” She paused, then smiled. “I really like this ride.” 

Claire held her hand and smiled, too. “Hey, I’d wait in a million lines for you. Not to mention, waiting in lines for ages and ages has become a staple of the Disneyland experience.” 

Kaia laughed. 

The Winnie The Pooh ride was better than Claire expected it would be. Even better than the ride, though, is the gift shop the exit for it deposits them in. 

“Okay, Claire, you’re not allowed to poke fun for this,” Kaia says, holding a ten dollar bill and rolling it anxiously between her fingers. She’s standing in front of the large glass counter at the back of the gift shop, and an attendant is waiting for her to place her order. 

“Kaia, calm down. You’re just getting sweets. Actually.” Claire holds up a finger, and the attendant turns their attention to Claire. “Whatever she gets, I’ll have one as well.” 

The attendant nods. To Kaia, they ask again, “What can I get for you today, miss?” 

“A tigger tail, please,” Kaia says. 

The attendant smiles and puts two sweets that look like large orange rectangles on a stick into a white paper bag. “Your total is ten dollars, even, miss.” Kaia hands over the bill, the attendant hands her the bag, and, transaction complete, Claire and Kaia leave the gift shop. 

“Hang on,” Claire says slowly, making sure she heard what she thinks she heard. “Did you just order two  _ tigger tails _ ? Tigger, as in the lovable tiger-ish fellow from Winnie the Pooh, the character coded as a symbol for ADHD? We just bought his  _ tail _ ?” 

“They’re sweets,” Kaia laughs, handing Claire hers. “Marshmallows, dipped in caramel and chocolate, decorated to look like Tigger’s tail! I think it’s creative. And they taste great, which is an added bonus.” 

Claire holds out the tigger tail. “Huh.” She takes a hesitant bite, and comes away dripping caramel. “Okay, wait, that is the best thing I’ve ever eaten.” 

“I know, right!” Kaia says, through a mouthful of marshmallow. “Literally amazing.” 

They walk back towards New Orleans Square, laughing about tigger tails and the way Claire looks with caramel smudged on her cheek. 

They’re just passing the Pirates of the Carribean ride when Kaia holds out an arm and stops Claire. 

“Is that Anna and Ruby?” 

“Hm?” Claire looks around, licking the tips of her fingers, and her eyes fall on a redhead and a girl with a leather jacket tied around her waist walking into a restaurant boasting of soup and bread bowls. “Wait. I think you’re right.” 

“That’s them, right? Anna’s convinced Ruby to take off her jacket, but that’s definitely them.” Kaia drops the stick and bag from her tigger tail into a trash can, still watching Anna and Ruby. 

“They look like they’re getting a table!” Sure enough, Ruby’s pulling a chair out for Anna and then sitting down herself across the little round table they’ve been given. “Should we try and yell at them, see if they hear and or recognize us?” 

“Nah,” Kaia says, shaking her head. “Let them have their date. Just text the group thing and ask if it’s them.” 

“We know it is them, though.” Claire’s already got her phone out, typing. 

“Yeah, but they don’t know that we know. Oh, and compliment their headbands, those are new.” 

Claire looks over at Ruby and Anna again. “Oh, yeah, I hadn’t noticed those. Good eye. They’re cute.” 

**_beast2herbeauty:_ ** _ did kaia and i just see u walk into a restaurant at barely 10 am @ruby @anna or r we hallucinating _

**_beast2herbeauty:_ ** _ if it was u guys those headbands r really cute kudos _

**_beast2herbeauty:_ ** _ oh also kaia just reminded me we forgot to check in @Jody kaia and i are still alive dw _

“Should we check out Tomorrowland next? You know I’ve always had a thing for Autotopia.” Claire wiggles her eyebrows, and Kaia grins. 

“Alright, sure. But you’re not allowed to complain when the line is three million hours long. It is, to use your very own words, ‘a staple of the Disneyland experience’.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Claire settles an arm around Kaia’s shoulders, and they set off for Tomorrowland, dodging as many screaming toddlers and exhausted parents and the like as they can. “I promise I won’t.” 

“See, you say that.” 

“It’s always so different once you’re actually in line, though! Can you blame me?” 

Kaia shakes her head, and Claire smiles. 

“I’m glad you’re my buddy.” 

“Not as glad as I am.” 

“Bet.” 

~~

Uriel and Raphael remember to check in only after they’ve been standing in the teacups ride line for ten minutes. 

“Did you check in with Jody on that group chat thing?” 

“No, I thought you did.” 

“I asked you to! I was the one feeling nauseous!” 

“I thought you took that time to check in like you were supposed to!”

They both get their phones out, and send nearly identical messages within seconds of each other. 

**_godisded:_ ** _ meant to check in a while back Jody sorry uriel forgot  _

**_rebelleader613:_ ** _ raphael and i are fine Jody raphael forgot to check in sorry _

**_godisded:_ ** _ hey! _

**_rebelleader613:_ ** _ hey! _

“Must we go on the teacups?” Raphael groans, once he’s put his phone away and they’ve stood in the teacups line for another half an hour. 

“We don’t  _ have _ to,” Uriel says crossly, frowning at Raphael, “but they are a classic Disneyland ride, and besides, we have to do  _ something _ while we’re here. Might as well be this.” 

“I guess we’re almost to the front anyway.” Raphael does a quick headcount of the people in front of them in line. “If we’re lucky, we might even get on the next round.” 

“Unlikely.” Uriel is silently hoping they get on not on the next round, but on the one after, because then he’s more likely to get the teacup he wants. He says none of this out loud, of course, though Raphael’s smirk is itching at the back of his head and he has a creeping suspicion that he knows. 

“But we’re agreed: we go slow, right? No super fast crank-the-wheel spinning?” 

“We’re not children,” Uriel scoffs, and Raphael nods once, firmly. 

“Precisely.” 

To Uriel’s badly-hidden delight, he and Raphael get on the teacups ride right when Uriel wanted them to,  _ and _ they get the teacup he’s had his eyes on.

The ride attendant recites the safety rules into a microphone off to the side, and then the music starts up, and the teacups begin their slow rotation around the Mad Tea Party pavilion. 

Uriel and Raphael make eye contact from their seats on either side of the wheel in the middle of the teacup and come to an immediate, though unspoken, understanding. 

In perfect sync, they lunge forward and grab at the wheel, spinning it clockwise as fast as they can. Their teacup picks up speed, and soon they’re whirling around the pavilion faster than any other teacup, whooping and cheering. 

When the ride ends and their teacup slows to a stop, both Uriel and Raphael’s forearms are burning, and they’re out of breath.

But they step off the teacup primly, not a hair out of place, Uriel tugging at the cuffs of his sleeves and Raphael smoothing a hand over his now mildly wrinkled shirt. 

“We agree to never speak of this moment again?” Raphael says gruffly as they exit the pavilion, and Uriel nods. 

“Agreed.” He holds out a hand, and Raphael shakes it. “Never to be spoken of.” 

“Good.” 

A beat, then: “So how do you feel about the Matterhorn?” 


	3. it’s a small world after all

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the team re-groups at “it’s a small world”. the line may be long, but it’s more exciting than you may think— especially for a chill boat ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! last chapter before the actual last chapter :P

“Sam, you know I’d do anything for you, but must we really go on the carousel again?” Gabriel, dragging his feet, whines. “It’s been what, five, six times in a row? All the other people in line for this are under the age of nine!” 

“Okay, yeah, but get this: this is the shortest line in the park, by far, and if you promise not to complain I’ll buy you cotton candy after we go another few rounds.” Sam holds out a hand, one eyebrow raised. “That’s a good deal, yeah?” 

Gabriel sighs. “I guess.” He shakes Sam’s hand, and they get back in line for the carousel. “I still can’t believe you’ve managed to get attached to a wooden carousel horse.” 

“Hey! Riot is a very good carousel horse, and I would die for him without question.” 

“What am I supposed to tell people, Sam? As your widow? Once you’ve died for the fake horse?” Gabriel leans against the chains separating the different lanes of the carousel line and hangs his head, happily playing the part of a melodramatic war widow, of sorts. “‘Ah, yes, my dear Samuel. He died, you know, with honor and grace, to save the life of a goddamn carousel horse from Disneyland he named Riot and vowed to love forever.’” Gabriel wipes a fake tear from his eye. “‘Even more than he vowed to love me.’” 

Sam tosses his head back and laughs. Gabriel looks up, grinning. 

“Is that what you’d like me to say at your funeral?” he asks sarcastically, and Sam snorts. 

“First off, Gabriel, we are in no way married, so you wouldn’t be my widow. Second, I beg of you, please call me Sam. Please. You know I hate ‘Samuel,’ it makes me sound like a droopy Saint Bernard. Third, Riot is a good name for a carousel horse, but I promise I love you more than I love him.” 

“Really?” Gabriel sidles up to Sam and blinks innocently. “Do you really love me more than the wooden carousel horse?”

“Really, really,” Sam says, booping Gabriel on the nose. “And I always will. Unless you keep holding up the line, in which case I think I may elope with the fake horse.” 

“Hey!” Gabriel looks ahead, and, sure enough, the line has moved up considerably. “Okay, that’s fair, but as a person with lawyer-y aspirations, you must know that technically, that’s stealing.” He moves up until he’s on the heels of the end of the line. 

Sam shakes his head and follows Gabriel. “I was joking, Gabe, and if it makes you happy, I’ll choose a different horse this time.” 

“Aw, thanks, Sammy.” 

“No Sammy. Just Sam.” 

“Okay then, Just Sa—”

“Nope. Try again.” 

Gabriel sighs. “You’re no fun,  _ Sam _ .” 

“There we go!” Sam smiles, pulling Gabriel in for a hug. “And I’m a lot of fun. Would a no-fun person go on the carousel? I don’t think so. So there’s the proof that I’m fun. Right there. Staring you in the face.” 

“The only thing staring me in the face is that horse,” Gabriel mutters, pointing to one of the horses sitting stagnant on the carousel, waiting for the ride to start. “It’s creeping me out.” 

Sam follows his finger to look at the horse in question and shivers. “Yeah, I see your point. It’s the little beady eyes.” 

“Yeah, you’re right, that’s it.” 

“Ooh, hey, look, it’s our turn!” Sam practically jumps over the fence to get to the carousel. Gabriel follows him, and, though he doesn’t let him see it, smiles at Sam’s delight. 

“I’m so proud,” Gabriel says, once Sam has stopped in front of a horse that’s  _ not _ Riot and starts to get on. “You really followed through with it. Congrats.” 

Sam nods and pulls one of his half-smiles. “Yep.” 

Gabriel stands and watches him for a moment. “You can’t do it, can you?” 

“Nope.” Sam slides off the horse and speed walks to the other side of the carousel, where Riot is. 

“You know what? I don’t blame you. This one’s the cutest one here,” Gabriel admits, once he catches up to Sam, and Sam looks as pleased as one can be when one is awkwardly straddling a carousel horse one named oneself. 

Gabriel climbs up onto the horse next to Sam’s and adjusts the safety strap around his waist. He can barely reach the adult foot pedals, but he makes a show of sitting up straight and looking out over Fantasyland regally. 

“Is this the last time we’re going on this? At least for now?” he mumbles to Sam, and Sam shakes his head. 

“One more time? Please?” 

“Fine. One more time.” Gabriel looks at Sam fondly, and Sam blushes. “But that’s  _ it _ .” 

“Deal.” 

They go on the carousel twice more after that. Gabriel doesn’t get his cotton candy, but he doesn’t mind, nor does he bring it up; for as long as he can remember, Gabriel has hated the fake, sickly-sweet taste of cotton candy, but the look on Sam’s face at the thought of him consuming pure sugar is priceless, so he lets Sam think it’s his most favorite thing in the whole world. 

~~

“Should we get in the line for It’s A Small World?” Jack asks as he finishes the last bite of his 29th churro. “It’s long, but you guys keep saying it’s ‘iconic,’ so maybe we should go on it anyway.” 

Cas nods, and Dean shrugs. 

“Are you sure you’re up for a two hour long wait, though, Jack? There won’t be any churro stands in there,” Cas smiles, and Dean chuckles. 

“He has a point. Personally, I think It’s A Small World is worth it, but if you don’t think you can go through that kind of churro withdrawal, we understand,” Dean says with earnest, though fake, solemnity. “Two hours can be a long time.” 

Jack considers this. “I think I can…” He stops, makes a face. “You guys are teasing, aren’t you?” 

Dean grins. “Indeed we are. It’s A Small World is a great idea, Jack, and we’re not far from the entrance to the line. Lead the way.” 

In a parade of three, Jack, Cas, and Dean make their way to the entrance to the It’s A Small World line. The ride looms in front of them, a cheery light-blue in the hot morning sun. 

They stop before they cross the line threshold. 

“Hold on.” Cas gets out his phone and pulls up the group chat. “Should I text everyone, let them know? I know this is Charlie’s favorite ride, and I don’t want for her to miss out.” 

“Good point. We could hold the spot in line, and they could come join us if they want to?” Dean nods, steps into the line. “We could all ride it together, one boat!” 

“That’d be fun!” Jack agrees, following Dean into the line. “Do the boats hold as many people as we have?” 

“Dunno,” Dean shrugs again, “but it’d be worth a shot.” 

“Sounds good,” Cas says, nose to his screen as he types his message to the group chat and walks to stand in line with Dean and Jack. “I’ll tell everyone right now.” 

“Cas?” 

Cas looks up, meets Dean’s eyes, his thumbs hovering over his screen. “Yeah?” 

“Good idea.” 

Cas blushes. “Thanks.” He presses send, and at various locations around the park, 16 phones vibrate, chime, or do nothing at all, in the case of the 10 who refuse to unmute their ringers. 

**_holyhell:_ ** _ hey yall,,, dean, jack and i are at its a small world n we were wondering if any of u would like to join us _

**_holyhell:_ ** _ we’re holding the spot in line atm the boats fit 20 so we could all go on it together if u guys want  _

**_holyhell:_ ** _ oh btw dean and i linked our accounts and combined our usrnms so we’re both holyhell now _

“This line looks so short,” Dean muses, standing up on his toes to look over the weaving mass of people waiting, “but it curves around so much, I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re in here for longer than two hours.”

“It moves fast, though,” Cas points out. The line moves forward a bit again, and Cas, Dean, and Jack move with it. “At least we’ve got the illusion of progress.” 

“Mhmm.” Jack nods, examining a new churro. “True.” 

Dean glances at Jack, then does a double take, eyes landing on the churro. “Jack, we’ve been in line for at least twenty minutes by now! How do you have a churro?” 

“I’ve been stockpiling in case of this very event,” Jack says demurely, clutching his churro to his chest protectively. 

“Jack.” Cas raises his eyebrows, and Jack sighs, defeated.

“I’ve got inside pockets,” he mumbles, holding open his jacket. “They fit three churros each. Three and a half, if I break them.” 

Dean bursts out laughing, and soon even Cas can’t hold back his mirth. 

“Dude, that’s  _ genius _ !” 

A woman standing in line in front of them turns around, fully prepared to scold Dean for his loudness. She takes in Jack’s churro jacket and Dean and Cas’s coordinating shirts and promptly turns back around again. 

Cas’s phone vibrates in his pocket. He takes a moment to catch his breath, then pulls it out, swiping open to the notification. 

**_objectionyourhonor:_ ** _ gabe and i are on our way  _

**_objectionyourhonor:_ ** _ should be there soon we were just at the carousel  _

**_objectionyourhonor:_ ** _ gabe i stg why did u change my usrnm again _

“Sam and Gabe are on their way over from the carousel,” Cas says aloud, returning his phone to his pocket. “Shenanigans will ensue, I’m sure.” 

“Oh, I have no doubt,” Dean grins. The line shuffles forward a bit more, and the three of them move with it.

Jack takes a bite out of his churro and chews thoughtfully. “How much longer do we have to stand here, again? Churros aren’t nearly as good when they aren’t fresh.” 

“Probably another hour and a half or so,” Cas answers, at the same time Dean says, “Forever.” 

Cas’s phone vibrates again, but he ignores it, correctly assuming that it’s just Gabriel answering Sam’s rhetorical question. 

Had he checked the new messages, he would’ve read:

**_thetrickster:_ ** _ bc its so much better than ‘moose’. who names themselves ‘moose,’ sam? ‘moose’ is a nickname to be bestowed, not to be chosen. its just not right  _

**_objectionyourhonor:_ ** _ ok fair but this? really? i haven’t ever even said this u just watch too many lawyer movies  _

**_thetrickster is typing_ **

**_thetrickster:_ ** _ for once in my life ive been rendered speechless. i have no response to that _

“Jack, how are you eating so many of those? You’d think you’d have gotten an upset stomach by now or something.” Cas watches Jack crumple up the churro’s square of white wrapping paper and toss it into a trash bin disguised as a smiling bush. 

“Cas has a point, man,” Dean says, stepping forward in line. “Too much of a good thing turns it bad.” 

Jack absorbs this as though he’s never heard the phrase before. “Okay, I’ll take a break.” 

Cas’s phone vibrates again. 

“Dean, can you check your messages? I don’t want to look unless I’m sure it’s not Gabe trying to convince Sam that he should let him choose his username.” 

“Sure.” Dean pats his thighs for a second before finding his phone in his back pocket. 

**_myonlyhope:_ ** _!!! _

**_myonlyhope:_ ** _ meg and i are cominnggggggg i cant wait i love iasw _

**_megara:_ ** _ guys u dont understand shes literally bouncing up and down and dragging me there from adventureland save me _

“Meg and Charlie are on their way,” Dean announces, shutting his phone off and dropping it back in his pocket. “They should be here pretty fast.” 

Cas smiles. “Charlie’s pulling Meg along purely by the power of her love for It’s A Small World, isn’t she?” 

“Who’s pulling who where, what?” a familiar voice asks from behind Cas. “Ooh, nice churro jacket, Jack.” 

“Gabe, wai— I’m so sorry, excuse me, sorry, excu— Gabriel, I swear, how did you manage to— sorry, so sorry, that’s my bad— get up there so fast—” Sam finally makes it to them, straightening and brushing off his shirt. “I see Gabe managed to sneak up here much easier than I did.” 

A family behind them in line is still shooting daggers at Sam, and Dean reaches out and gently directs Sam to stand on the other side of Jack. 

“Yeah, I guess so.” 

“How’s your day going so far?” Dean asks, directing his question to Sam and Gabriel. “Gone on many rides?” 

“We did Thunder Mountain,” Sam says, and Gabriel shoots to attention. 

“Which I loved and excelled at.” He tugs on Sam’s arm and whispers, “Right?”

“Oh, yeah, Gabe was very brave,” Sam nods, and Gabriel facepalms. 

“Stop saying it like that, you make me sound like a wuss!”

“But you… sort of were,” Sam whispers back. “Which I mean in the most loving way possible, of course.” 

“If I could say ‘smh’ out loud I would,” Gabriel hisses, and Sam breathes air out of his nose, hard, as one does when one is stifling one’s laughter. 

“You could just shake your head, you know.” 

“Get out of here with your facts and logic,” Gabriel says, voice still hushed. “Wait. That’s what that stands for?” 

“...Yeah? You use that abbreviation all the time, how did you not know?” 

“I just used it because it had the right energy, I dunno! Do  _ you _ know the meaning of all the abbreviations  _ you _ use?” 

“Yeah?” Sam shakes his head, smiling softly. “I’m going to be honest and say that this shines a whole new light on your texting style.” 

Dean clears his throat, and Sam and Gabriel look up sheepishly. 

“Anything besides Thunder Mountain?” Cas asks, trying to move the conversation along. 

Gabriel answers that one. “Yeah, we were just over at the carousel for forever because  _ someone _ —” he looks pointedly at Sam and grins “—got attached to a fake horse.” 

“In my defense, he was the cutest one there. Gabe can back me up on that.” Sam takes the one step necessary to bridge the gap between him and the just-moved line ahead. Everyone else takes two. 

“Okay, yeah, that’s true, but  _ still _ .” 

Jack opens one side of his jacket and selects a churro. “Carousel horses are very easy to get attached to. I remember I used to love going on this carousel at this park when I was little, and I always rode the same horse, but then they had to close down the park, so I didn’t get to ride the carousel there anymore. If I’m feeling nostalgic, sometimes, I kind of miss that horse.”

“Hmm.” Dean clearly doesn’t know what else to say, and neither does anyone else. 

They’re saved by the arrival of Meg and Charlie. 

“Hi, guys! Thank you for saving the spot in line,” Charlie says happily, cheeks flushed. Meg’s standing beside her, slightly bemused. “We came over here as fast as we could. This is my favorite ride ever, so.” 

“We passed Adam and Michael on the way over here. They’re stopping for sustenance, but they plan on coming to join us in this lovely line next,” Meg adds. “How long is this line, by the way?” 

“At this point, probably an hour and twenty minutes, maybe an hour and a half?” Cas estimates. “We’ll be here for a while, at any rate.” 

“I see.” Meg turns to Charlie. “I’ve got a feeling that, no matter what, we were going to run all the way over here?” 

Charlie smiles and links her arm with Meg’s. “You know me well enough to know the answer to that.” 

“We totally, completely were,” Meg sighs, not unhappily. “There was no escape from the Charlie-run in the cards at all. Oh, well.” 

Cas’s phone buzzes again. 

“It’s Claire,” Charlie says, phone in hand before anyone else can make a move for theirs. 

**_beauty2herbeast:_ ** _ sorry guys kaia and i are stuck in line for autotopia  _

**_beauty2herbeast:_ ** _ we may be able to get over there in time but dont count on us _

Charlie texts back a quick sad face, and then her phone is gone again. “I hope they can make it, but I know firsthand what a hell the Autotopia line can be.” 

“Is that the one for the cars that you drive around on that god-awful track where the line just winds around the same pole for hours and hours and by the time you get there you’re sunburned twice over and you don’t want to go on the ride anymore?” Meg asks, knowing full well the answer. 

“Unfortunately, yes,” Gabriel groans. “‘Hell’ is the right word for that line.”

The seven of them stand around for a while longer, bashing Autotopia, until Adam and Michael ping the chat to inform them that they are on their way, armed with snacks. 

**_adam m:_ ** _ we got literally everything that sounded good despite my protests  _

**_adam m:_ ** _ to be fair michael made a good point 2 hrs standing in a line outside in the heat w u guys could get nasty  _

**_adam m:_ ** _ so we got frozen lemonade too _

“Sam, how much are you willing to bet me that they will spill something on an innocent passerby?” Gabriel asked. 

Sam opens his mouth to respond and closes it several times before answering. “That is not a nice bet to take.”

Gabriel grins. “Fair enough.” 

By the time Adam and Michael make it to where the seven of them are in line, there’s only an hour left in their estimated wait time. 

“Hey! You made it!” Dean motions Adam and Michael over, pointedly ignoring the continued grumbles of the family behind them. 

“We come bearing goods,” Michael says, holding up a cardboard tray carrying four frozen lemonades and a churro. 

“The lemonades are to share,” Adam explains, passing one to Sam, Cas, Meg, and keeping one for him and Michael. “And then we also got Jack a churro.” To Jack, he says, “We saw how much you liked them from Dean’s messages to the chat and figured you’d like that better than lemonade.” 

Jack smiles broadly, accepting the offered churro. “Thank you! You figured right.” 

Adam smiles back. “No problem, kid.” 

Dean and Cas finish their frozen lemonade in minutes, second only to Gabriel and Sam finishing theirs almost immediately after receiving it. 

“You guys really inhaled that,” Michael comments, his spoon hovering over the frozen lemonade he’s sharing with Adam while he waits for Adam to finish his turn taking a scoop. 

“Very quickly,” Adam adds, nudging Michael with the lemonade cup to let him know it’s his turn. 

“What can I say? Frozen lemonade is great,” Gabriel says, sucking on his spoon. “Plus it’s one of the only traditional concession items Sam loves, so.” 

“The combination of Gabe’s natural sugar consuming ability and my love of frozen lemonade could only end in us devouring the thing,” Sam finishes with a grin. “Though I see Dean and Cas are making some real headway, too.” 

“Finished a few minutes after you did,” Cas says, ignoring Dean’s vain efforts to scrape the nonexistent remaining traces of lemonade from the sides of the container. 

“Hm. And we’re done as well.” Michael drops his spoon into his and Adam’s empty frozen lemonade container. “And just in time for the line to move forward again!”

The line did not move forward very much, mind, but the nine of them took the necessary step-and-a-half.

“And now that that bizarre peacocking is over with,” Meg says, and Charlie smirks. “Does there happen to be a trash can anywhere nearby?”

“Oh! I know this,” Charlie beams, taking the empty frozen lemonade cup from Meg’s hand and reaching over the railing to a perfectly rectangular bush. “All the shrubbery along the line route that looks like this is actually a trash can in disguise.” She drops the cup into the bin. 

“Neat.” Meg steps to the side and motions to the trash can. “Boys.” 

One by one, Sam, Dean, and Michael drop their empty containers into the trash, too. 

“Guys! We can see the end!” Jack cheers, leaning over the railing and pointing ahead. “We’re almost there!”

“Ahead of schedule, too,” Dean says happily. “We’d better check in with the rest again, see if they can make it.” 

**_holyhell:_ ** _ we’re almost to the front guys if ur coming hurry  _

**_holyhell:_ ** _ this is dean btw in case the usrnm was confusing  _

**_holyhell:_ ** _ @anna @ruby @Jody @donna @uriel @raphael if u guys are planning on coming lemme know maybe we can stall for time so u guys can get here _

“Cas?” 

“Hmm?” 

“How long would you say we have left to wait?” 

“I dunno, forty-five minutes? The line is moving faster all of a sudden.” 

“Alright, thanks.” 

“Yeah.” 

**_holyhell:_ ** _ u guys probly have a little over 30 mins if u want to go on this w us _

“Oh, hey, Jody and Donna just said they’re on their way.” 

**_Jody mills:_ ** _ Sounds fun! Sorry to respond so late… we were in the Tiki Room and they tell you to turn your cell phone off. Donna and I are on our way! _

“The capitalization, Charlie, oh god. And the punctuation! It hurts my soul,” Meg mumbles to Charlie, who claps a hand over her mouth to hide her smile and muffle her laughter. 

“Meg!” 

Meg grins. 

Jody and Donna make it to the group, expanding it to eleven people, right about when they hit the thirty minutes left mark. 

“Hiya, gang! How’s everyone doing?” Donna asks, surveying the group. “Jack, I can see you’ve got a jacket of churros. That’s one way to do it, but I’m with ya. Everyone’s all sunscreened up still?” 

Before Donna can get out her bottle of sunscreen, everyone rushes to reassure her that there’s no need for them to reapply. 

The excuses range from “I’m good, Donna, really,” to “Just reapplied from my own bottle a few minutes ago!” to “I am a sun god, Donna. If anything, the sun needs screening from me.” 

Guess who said the last one. 

Anna and Ruby show up without warning right about when Cas estimates there’s twenty minutes left in line. Ruby is delighted to have run into Jody; she tries to hand her the leather jacket Anna made her remove, but Jody refuses to take it. 

“The moment you give it to me a cloud will pass over the sun and you’ll just get cold again,” Jody protests, gently shoving the jacket back so Ruby will keep it. “You look just fine with it tied around your waist, anyway.” 

Anna steps between them to adjust Ruby’s Mickey Mouse ears. “If it’s really bothering you, I can hold it,” she offers. Ruby kisses her nose and declines. 

“It’s fine, I can just tie it around my waist like you said before.” 

Anna smiles and takes Ruby’s hand. “Okay.” They stand side by side in line for the remaining twenty minutes, in a world of their own. 

Claire and Kaia make it to the group— now fifteen people, including them— at the ten minute mark. 

“Sorry we took so long! When Dean texted, we were almost through Autotopia, so we just thought we’d finish that and see if we had enough time to make it over here,” Claire says, her Minnie Mouse hat askew. 

“Turns out we did, so we ran.” Kaia lets go of Claire’s hand to lean against the line’s railing and catch her breath. “Didn’t want to miss it.” 

“You made it with plenty of time,” Jody says with a smile. “If what Cas is estimating is true, we’ve got about ten minutes left of waiting.” 

Kaia nods. “Oh, good.” 

Claire exhales sharply. “Guess we could’ve walked, then.” 

“Guess so. Too late now,” Kaia shrugs. 

The line takes another step forward, and so do they. 

“Should we be worried that we haven’t heard from Raphael and Uriel?” Jack asks, when there’s five minutes left in line and they’re feet away from the classic It’s A Small World boats. 

“They’re not the type for the big family ride,” Michael says, nonplussed. “Besides, they’d text if something was wrong.” 

On cue, Jody’s, Donna’s, Anna’s, and Cas’s phones buzz. 

**_godisded:_ ** _ how much longer do u guys have left in line  _

Anna replies. 

**_theredsunflower:_ ** _ like 5 mins why  _

**_godisded:_ ** _ we r on our way _

Nobody will admit it, but their hearts are pounding in their chests, and everyone is looking anywhere they can to see if Uriel and Raphael are close, if they’re coming, if they’ll make it. Missing a ride on It’s A Small World may not be very high stakes, but it’s still nerve-wracking. 

The “gang,” as Jody and Donna called them, were next up in line. Adam was tapping his foot in a nervous rhythm; Dean was biting his lip; Ruby was fiddling with the sleeve of her jacket around her waist; Charlie was drumming her fingers on Meg’s arm; and Sam was actually letting Gabe play with the ends of his hair. 

Uriel and Raphael stroll up behind them. “Hey, guys. Looks like we made it.” 

Everyone except Jack jumps a mile high in surprise. 

“Jackasses,” Michael mutters affectionately, cuffing Raphael on the shoulder. “Knew you’d make it.” 

“Next in line!” the It’s A Small World attendant calls, and Dean and Cas step forward. “Party of two?” 

“Actually,” Cas says, glancing behind him. “Party of seventeen.” 

Needless to say, they get a boat to themselves. 


	4. and they all live happily ever after

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their “It’s A Small World” ride successful, the group decides to go on “The Haunted Mansion” together, too, before splitting up into their buddy groups again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> final chapter! thanks for y’all’s enthusiasm, i really wasn’t expecting this to do as well as it is!

The gang stumble into a boat in no particular order; nevertheless, they do end up in a sort of pattern. 

The first row is Jack, Dean, and Cas. Because of the way the boat narrows in front, the first row is smaller than the rest, so only three fit. 

The next row is Ruby, Anna, Michael, and Adam, in that order. Ruby and Anna are happy to pretend they’ve got the row to themselves, and Michael and Adam are too busy talking about how they think the boats manage to move along on the track to really care. 

Meg, Charlie, Gabriel, and Sam sit in the third row. Charlie is vibrating with so much excitement she’s close to rocking the boat; Meg is patting her arm and trying to get her to calm down; Gabriel is reaching over Sam to point out the different shapes the bushes around them have been trimmed to; and Sam is just trying to keep Gabe in the boat at least until the ride actually starts. 

The fourth row is just Uriel and Raphael. They managed to convince Jody that it would make more sense for them to sit by themselves, free from being squished in a row with two other people. At the last second, Jody changes her mind, and switches seats from the last row to the fourth. Uriel and Raphael are not happy about this. Jody does not care. 

Which means that the fifth and final row is Claire, Kaia, and Donna. Claire and Kaia sit further to one side, practically in each other’s laps. Donna sits on the other, either oblivious to or purposefully ignoring her row-mates. She’s humming the It’s A Small World tune under her breath and smiling softly, content in the back row since she’s free from everyone’s shenanigans. She loves ‘em, don’t get her wrong, but standing outside in the heat for a ten minute boat ride doesn’t hold a candle to the air conditioned Tiki Room. 

The boat lurches forward, and all chatter on the boat ceases. 

“Here we go,” Charlie whispers loudly, gripping Meg’s forearm and grinning. Meg pats her knee and says nothing. 

The boat inches to the ride’s official entrance, and as they pass under the archway and enter the brightly-lit tunnel, the first few lines of It’s A Small World surround them. 

Jack gasps at the same time Gabriel breathes, “This is so cool!” 

There are tiers of dolls on either side of the boat, waving and “singing” the It’s A Small World song. Charlie sings along, and, whenever the boat glides past a particular doll or piece of scenery, she whispers an obscure factoid about it to Meg. 

“In the Africa scene, coming up, there’s a hidden Mickey in the vines on the elephant’s left side, see?” She points to the elephant, where, sure enough, a silhouette of Mickey Mouse is visible. 

“That’s actually kind of neat,” Meg says, turning her head to watch the elephant until the boat’s rounded the curve and it’s out of sight. 

“I know!”

As the ride progresses, the song switches from English to Italian, Japanese, Spanish and Swedish at various scenes. 

Charlie sings along to all of them, regardless of the language. 

Sam leans over Gabriel and whispers to Charlie, “You know Swedish?” 

Charlie grins. “Not really. I just know the words to this song in every language it’s sung in.” 

“Huh.” Sam leans back and puts his arm around Gabriel’s shoulders, in part to keep him from trying to jump out of the boat and sit in an open clamshell sitting off to their left. “Cool.” 

The boat rounds the last corner to the “farewell” scene, where an array of signs stylized to look like big stamps on posts say ‘goodbye’ in every language conceivable. 

Jack waves at them. Dean chuckles, and Cas takes a quick picture with his phone; Jack, hand up, waving to a couple of inanimate signs, and Dean, caught mid-laugh, smiling broadly. 

The ride ends, and the boat pulls around to the unloading station. An It’s A Small World cast member instructs all seventeen of them to get off the boat as quickly as they can, and so they scramble off, boat bobbing haplessly in the water. 

“That was fun!” Jody says, once they’ve well and truly disembarked and have regrouped at the open-air gift shop. “We should go on another ride as a group.” 

“All seventeen of us?” Ruby, still holding Anna’s hand, shakes her head, Mickey ears flapping. “I don’t think there’s another ride that can take all of us.” 

“We don’t have to go on one where we’re all together in the same boat,” Donna reasons. “Just one where we can stand in line together and then get on at about the same time.”

“Ooh! I have an idea,” Kaia says, and all eyes turn to her. “What about the Haunted Mansion?” 

Claire claps her hands together. “Oh! That’s a cool one! The special effects are amazing. We totally should.” 

Dean makes a noise like he’s about to disagree, but before he can, Sam’s voiced his assent, and so has Jody, Meg, Charlie, Raphael, and Anna. 

“Yeah, alright,” Dean mutters, pulling his plaid shirt tighter around him. “If all of you guys want to, I’m in.” 

Adam grins. “I love the Haunted Mansion! They try so hard to make it scary, but it’s just a bunch of mirror tricks and fake cobwebs from the dollar store, it’s hilarious.” 

“True! Last time we went on it, we could actually see one of the projectors,” Michael crows, and he and Adam dissolve into laughter. 

“Is it… is it really haunted, though?” Jack asks, frozen, a reaching for a churro from his pocket. “Or is it all pretend?” 

“It’s just pretend, don’t worry,” Cas reassures him, and Jack sighs in relief. 

“Oh, good. Then I’m good with that one! Sounds exciting.” He grabs a churro, enthusiasm no less high. 

Ruby moves to stand behind Anna, fixing the veil on her headband. “I’m down as long as nobody tries to squeeze into Anna’s and my Doom Buggy. Those things are only built for two, people.” 

Gabriel snorts. “Fair enough. There is an odd number of us, though, so someone’s going to have to suffer alone.” 

“I nominate Gabe,” Sam teases, booping Gabriel’s nose and smiling when Gabe sticks his tongue out at him. “No, no, I would never. You’re my buddy!”

“Damn straight,” Gabe says, taking Sam’s hand and holding it high. “Buddy check!”

There’s some grumbling amongst the group. Meg asks if we really  _ must _ do this now, we’re all here, aren’t we? But Jody latches on to the idea, so there’s no escaping it. 

“I’m doing a headcount!” Jody warns, holding Donna’s hand up high. 

“And then we’re redoing sunscreen again, whether ya like it or not!” Donna adds. 

Once Jody is satisfied that all buddies are intact and Donna is sure nobody’s in danger of sunburn, the group starts walking to New Orleans Square and, by extension, the Haunted Mansion line. 

“It’s only an hour at the moment,” Adam says, still holding Michael’s hand but looking at the Disney Parks app open on his phone in his other. “If we hurry, we won’t have to wait that long.”

“Oh. Great,” Dean mutters under his breath, watching as Cas runs after Jack and steers him away from buying yet another churro. He can’t help but smile. Louder, so the rest of the group can hear, he says, “Why do I get the feeling Jack, Cas and I will be the unlucky group of three crammed into one Doom Buggy?” 

“Because you know it’s true,” Sam grins, nudging Dean’s arm with his elbow. 

“Case closed,” Gabriel adds helpfully before promptly breaking into a run. 

Sam sprints after him, yelling, “Stop with the weird courtroom jargon, Gabe!” When he catches up to Gabriel, Sam wraps his arms around him and spins him around, then sets him down and plants a kiss on his lips. “Or no more cotton candy for you, ever.” 

“Never ever?” Gabriel says, employing the most useful tool in his arsenal: his puppy dog eyes. “Never, never, ever?” 

Sighing, Sam shakes his head. “That’s not fair, you know that?” 

“What, it’s better when you do it?” 

“At least I only do it when I need to!”

“Last week you used your puppy dog face to get me to agree to going to that weird new vegetarian place around the corner! That was not a  _ need _ .” 

“It totally was, Gabe. You’d only eaten those gross butterfinger candies for four days. You needed a salad.” 

“Did not!” 

“You really did. Hey, look, it’s Big Thunder Mountain!” Sam points over Gabriel’s head to the ride looming across the path. “The line doesn’t look very long. Should we take a detour?” 

“No!” Gabriel says quickly, snatching Sam’s hand and pulling him along until they’re well past the ride. “Nope nope nope!” 

Sam laughs and digs in his heels, slowing them to a stop. “At least let everyone catch up to us before you drag me all the way to New Orleans Square.” 

Meg and Charlie are the first to catch up. Charlie is describing, in ridiculous detail, each and every bit of special effects she knows about in the Haunted Mansion. 

Gabe claps his hands over his ears. “Stop! I don’t want to know!”

“Oh, right! It’s your first time here, I forgot!” Charlie makes a silent motion across her lips, as though zipping them shut. “I won’t say a word. But I can’t guarantee I won’t gush about it after.” 

“At least you’re self-aware,” Meg says fondly, knocking their shoulders together. Charlie smiles. 

Dean and Cas run up next, both panting hard. “Have you seen Jack?” Dean asks, hands on his hips. “Last we saw him, he was headed for a churro stand, but the crowd swallowed him.”

“We’re sure he’s fine, but— Dean! Look!” Cas points ahead to a boy walking in the direction of New Orleans Square, with what looks to be a churro in one hand. “Is that him? I can’t tell!”

“Me neither,” Dean says, and then they’re running again, hand in hand so as to not get lost in the crowd— or at least, that’s what Dean says later. 

“What was that all about?” Anna and Ruby saunter up, practically joined at the hip. “I’ve never seen Cas run that fast in my life.” 

“They think they’ve lost Jack,” Sam explains, right as Jody and Donna walk up. 

Jody immediately turns frantic. “They’ve lost him? Oh, I knew this would happen. Donna, call the fire department. Or the police. Actually, no, fuck the police. I’m so glad we quit those jobs. Call… Disneyland has security, right? Call them.”

“Jody.” Donna interrupts Jody’s rant, a hand on her shoulder. “I’ve just got a text. See?” She holds up her phone, open to the group chat. 

**_holyhell:_ ** _ we got him! the call of the churros was too strong for him to resist  _

**_holyhell:_ ** _ [image.png] _

“See, Cas even sent a… oh, what do you call it, a selfer?” 

“Selfie,” Claire corrects reflexively, as she and Kaia catch up to the growing group. “What’s happening?” 

“Cas even sent a selfie of him and Dean and Jack, plus Jack’s churro,” Donna finishes, handing the phone to Jody. “Look, they’re smiling and everything. They’re fine.” 

Sam fills Claire and Kaia in. 

**_holyhell:_ ** _ we’ll meet u guys at the entrance to the line for haunted mansion _

**_holyhell:_ ** _ hurry tho the line is getting longer _

Adam arrives at the little congregation before Michael does. “On the side of the path like this, hidden by all the crowds, I almost missed you guys.” He holds up his phone, also open to the group chat. “I take it Dean and Cas momentarily lost Jack to the churros?” 

“Guess so,” Ruby says, letting go of Anna to shrug on her leather jacket again. “It’s getting cold, all of a sudden. Should we keep walking?” 

“Michael went to hit the restrooms. Should I just text him to catch up?” Adam asks, fingers hovering over his phone’s keypad. 

Charlie tells him he should, so Adam sends a message to the chat. 

**_adam m:_ ** _ @michael dude ur taking forever just meet up w/us at the line  _

**_whatsthepointofburgers:_ ** _ its not my fault the bathroom line is 2k years long but fine i’ll catch up _

**_holyhell:_ ** _ ur usrnm is blasphemous @michael  _

**_whatsthepointofburgers:_ ** _ i genuinely don’t understand the point of them dean what’s wrong with that _

**_holyhell:_ ** _ how did u know it was me??? cas n i share this account  _

**_whatsthepointofburgers:_ ** _ guess  _

**_holyhell:_ ** _ ok thats fair _

“Shall we get a move on, then? I don’t know where Uriel and Raphael have got to, but they know where we’ll be,” Jody says, resuming the walk across New Orleans Square. The rest of the group follows like ducklings behind their mother, with only Donna walking at Jody’s side. 

**_adam m:_ ** _ Jody is leading the way to haunted mansion @dean @cas @jack we should be there soon  _

**_adam m:_ ** _ oh also since nobody else is doing this  _

**_adam m:_ ** _ @uriel @raphael meet us at hm idk where u are but thats where we’ll be _

**_godisded:_ ** _ yea sry we took a quick detour we’ll be there _

By the time they make it to the Haunted Mansion entrance, the line is, according to the counter on the railing, an hour and fifteen minutes long. 

Cas, Dean, and Jack are waiting right outside like they promised, Jack munching happily on a churro and Dean and Cas looking like they’ve just run a marathon. 

“Glad you found him,” Jody says, and Dean and Cas nod. 

“Us too.” 

One last time before they commit to the line, Donna asks, “We all sure we’re good with this?” Everyone nods, and they join the queue. 

Michael joins them in line ten minutes in, complaining of the long wait for the restroom. Adam pulls him close and rests his head on Michael’s shoulder, and Michael stops talking, focused instead on keeping Adam comfortable. And if he blushes a bit, well, neither of them mention it. 

“I wonder where Raph and Uriel are,” Anna says, turning from watching Adam and Michael to face the rest of the group, smiling softly. “They can’t have gone far, but we did get separated really quickly in Fantasyland.” 

“It’s all these damn people,” Dean complains, casting a dour glance at the mass in line in front of them, and Jody swats his arm. “Sorry, sorry, it’s all these… all these people. There’s not enough emphasis there, Jody, c’mon!”

“Nope. We have innocent ears here, Dean, and Disneyland does not require that kind of language.” Jody steps forward as the line moves. “And look, the line is moving already!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Dean leans against the iron railing, plaid shirt falling open over his Minnie Mouse shirt. Cas moves from where he was standing next to Meg and Charlie to stand by Dean. 

“It’s the happiest place on Earth, Dean,” Cas says with a smile, resting one elbow on the railing. “Jody has a point.” 

Dean tilts his head back and meets Cas’s eyes. “Alright, you’ve convinced me. I will speak with only the cleanest of language from here on out.” 

“How long do you think he’ll last?” Meg whispers to Charlie, who doubles over with laughter. 

“Back on the subject of Uriel and Raphael,” Anna says, twisting an arm around Ruby’s waist, “should we text them or something? They’ve been gone for a while, and I wouldn’t put it past them to get themselves into trouble in the time we’ve been standing here.” 

Ruby drapes her arm over Anna’s shoulders. “You’re not wrong.” 

“I may not always be right, Rubes, but I’m never wrong.” 

“That doesn’t make any sense!” Ruby withdraws her arm and rotates until she and Anna are nose-to-nose. “In order to not always be right, you are, inherently, wrong sometimes.” 

“Never said it made sense,” Anna smiles, “just that that’s how it is. Also, your Mickey ears are nudging mine off of my head.” 

“Oh. Sorry.” Ruby kisses Anna’s nose and pulls back, reverting to their original arm-around-shoulder position. “What were we talking about?” 

“Uriel and Raphael,” Cas offers. 

“Yeah. We should text them.” 

“I’m on it,” Claire says, phone already in hand. 

**_beauty2herbeast:_ ** _ @uriel @raphael where r u guys it’s been like 30 mins  _

**_godisded:_ ** _ sry sry we’re on our way should be there in 5  _

**_godisded:_ ** _ how far r u guys in line  _

**_beauty2herbeast:_ ** _ little less than halfway  _

**_godisded:_ ** _ ok  _

**_godisded:_ ** _ uriel is bugging me to look up so i dont crash so see yall soon ig _

“They’re on their way,” Claire declares. The line inches forward again. “Should be here in about five minutes.” 

“That’s that, then.” Kaia pulls herself up so she’s sitting on the railing. “I’m sure they’ll make it in plenty of time.” 

~~

Raphael holds out an arm and stops Uriel, face a mask of impassiveness. “And you swear on the River Styx that you will not tell anyone where we just went?” 

“You mean, you  _ don’t _ want me to tell everyone that you passed the line for pictures with Mickey Mouse and saw that it was only five minutes long and dragged me to it? And then proceeded to fawn over said Mickey Mouse until someone else came up to the line to get their picture taken?” 

“Yeah,” Raphael says, trying and failing to hide his blush. “That.” 

Uriel grins. “If you say so. But I hope you know that you can and will be buying me a souvenir. And red vines the next time we go to the movies. And possibly a new pair of shoes.” 

“Whatever you say.” Raphael starts walking to the Haunted Mansion again, satisfied that Uriel won’t spill the beans. 

“Are we Doom Buggy partners, or are you going to try and switch it up?” Uriel asks, hands shoved deep in his pockets. 

“Like I’m ever letting you out of my sight again,” Raphael scoffs, and Uriel grins. 

“That’s what I thought.”

Raphael speeds up, winding through the crowds standing between them and their destination. “Hurry up, Uriel, I told them we’d be at the line in five minutes.” 

“Dude, the Haunted Mansion is literally right there. I can see it. With my own two eyeballs. Unassisted. We’re fine.” 

“Except for that it’s been four minutes since I told them that.” 

“Oh, shit.” Uriel steps up his pace to match Raphael’s, hands swinging at his sides. “We’ll still make it, I’m sure.” 

“There’s no doubt we’ll be there in time for the ride,” Raphael says, dodging a particularly rowdy family, “but I’m worried about the lecture we may get from Jody.” 

At that, Uriel walks even faster. “To be fair, she does have a right to be worried about us, but nevertheless, I support your point wholeheartedly.” 

“ _ Thank _ you.” 

They make it to the Haunted Mansion line entrance at five minutes on the dot. Technically, they’re over by forty eight seconds by the time they elbow their way halfway up the line, but nobody notices. 

“Hey! You made it!” Michael waves at Raphael and Uriel, which is the proof they need that their family is up ahead to make it past the family standing between them and the group. “Took you long enough. Where did you go?” 

“We stopped at the restrooms,” Raphael says quickly, ignoring Uriel’s attempts to speak. “The ones in Fantasyland, by Dumbo? The line was awful, but we made it.” 

Donna shakes her head. “Those lines can be hell. Glad you two made it, though!”

“We’re almost to the front.” Jody turns to look ahead, counting the people who still need to get on the ride before them. “Maybe twenty more minutes? Who knows, really.” 

The rest of the wait goes by quickly. Adam and Michael fall into a conversation with Dean, Sam, and Gabriel about the pros and cons of hamburgers. Cas, armed with a few hundred photos on his phone of a bumblebee that he took himself, talks about the ecological importance of bees with Charlie, who wholeheartedly agrees with him that bumblebees are precious and must be protected at all costs. Meg and Ruby, standing at the back of the group, discuss the little things they love about a place like Disneyland, from the intricacies in the design to the cleanliness of the bathrooms, though if anyone were to ask what they were talking about, they’d both short circuit and say “leather jackets”. 

Anna, Uriel, and Raphael have the kind of conversation only siblings can, wherein Anna pokes fun at their detour and tries to get them to admit where they  _ really _ were, and Raphael keeps praying that the motivation of free red vines in the future is enough to keep Uriel’s mouth shut. 

At the front of the group, Claire, Kaia, Donna, Jack, and Jody are the ones who move forward when the line does and call out to the others to move, too, while also holding a side discussion about the deliciousness of the (overpriced) churros all around the park. As one might guess, Jack began that particular topic, but it quickly becomes a fully-fledged conversation as Kaia and Claire grow attached to their own, ultimately inconsequential (but still entertaining!), opinions. 

Once the group makes it inside the stretching room, it’s all sunshine and rainbows from there. 

Well, not really. 

Jack shrieks when the paintings stretch out and reveal the entirety of the ghoulish figures depicted. Dean finds Cas’s hand in the dark and grips it tight. Gabriel climbs Sam like a tree, determined not to get “rolled out,” as he calls it, and Ruby has to try very hard to keep her cool facade. 

Anna sees through her in a heartbeat, even in the dark. “It’s okay, Ruby, it’s all fake. Charlie can explain it to you, if you want.” At that, Ruby laughs, and any thought that this ride might actually be scary is banished from her mind. 

Claire and Kaia whisper everything that’s obvious about the room to each other, careful to keep their voices low so as to not disturb the others in the room. Seeing the faults of the supposedly scary stuff dulls it for them, and they find themselves stifling laughter when Kaia actually spots the speaker where the narrator’s voice is coming from. 

Meg and Charlie have a similar technique, though theirs differs in that Charlie knows every who, what, when, where, why, and how about the ride, and is determined to murmur every fact she knows to Meg by the time the stretching room is over. She doesn’t squeeze everything in, but of course there’s always still the actual ride. 

Somehow, in the jostling of the small crowd allowed in the stretching room at one time, Adam and Michael get separated from the others, but they don’t mind. Michael makes hushed comments about how the only thing scary about the room is the horrendous interior design, and Adam joins in with muttered critiques of the painters’ style. 

Donna and Jody, ever the moms™, hardly even pay attention to the narration and the special effects. They’re busy standing on their tip-toes and trying to count heads to make sure all fifteen of their charges made it into the room. 

Uriel and Raphael would be entertained, probably, if they could actually see anything, but unfortunately for them they got the standing space behind Jody and Donna, so they, too, are craning their necks, though they’re trying to see what’s happening on the walls. 

The narration finishes, a hidden door at the side of the room opens, and the crowd shuffles out. Each buddy pair finds their partner and holds on tight, desperate not to get separated or lost. Dean and Cas keep an eye on Jack, who wanders the next hall like he’s never seen one before, eyes wide. 

“Do they keep it this hot in here to add to the scariness?” he asks Cas, who manages to cover up his smile with solemnity.

“I don’t think so. I think they just don’t want to ruin the atmosphere by adding air conditioner units.” 

“Oh, that makes sense.” Jack continues down the hall, mesmerized. 

Cas realizes with a start that Dean hasn’t let go of his hand. “You okay, Dean?” Cas glances at him, then does a double take; Dean is unusually pale. “Is it too hot? Do you want to take off your plaid?” 

Dean stares straight ahead, still holding onto Cas’s hand like Cas is Thelma and he is Louise, about to drive right off that cliff. “I’m fine,” he says hollowly, and Cas doesn’t believe him but he knows Dean is too stubborn to let him do anything about it. 

“Okay.” 

The hallway leads to a room with a conveyor belt moving Doom Buggies along, pausing only long enough to let guests get on before moving the Doom Buggy on to the ride’s track and sending them off. 

Dean hangs back, so Cas does too. He catches Jack’s eye and motions for him to stand with them. 

First Meg and Charlie get on a doom buggy, Charlie still whispering about the mirror effects the Haunted Mansion uses for the ghosts. They’re followed by Gabriel and Sam, then Adam and Michael, then Uriel and Raphael, then Anna and Ruby, then Claire and Kaia, then Donna and Jody, each pair in their respective Doom Buggies. 

“Sir, it’s your group’s turn,” the Haunted Mansion cast member standing in front of the conveyor belt says, motioning them forward. “Are all three of you going to go on one Doom Buggy?” 

Cas nods. “We don’t want Jack alone on his first time on the ride.” 

The cast member smiles. “Okay, then, if you’ll step aside for a moment.” Cas does, pulling Dean with him, and Jack follows his lead.

The cast member allows two other groups of two onto Doom Buggies before motioning Cas, Dean, and Jack up again. “This Buggy is one of the few wider ones we have, so hopefully the three of you will fit.” 

“Thank you,” Cas says gratefully. Jack steps onto the conveyor belt and takes a second to steady himself before climbing into the Doom Buggy first. Cas follows, and, last but not least, Dean boards. The cast member pulls a safety bar down from over their heads, and they’re on their way. 

Haunted Mansion is not a long ride. In fact, it’s about nine minutes long; certainly not the shortest ride in the park, but definitely not the longest. 

For Dean, however, it feels like a million years long. 

Jack is thrilled with the ride as their Doom Buggy makes its way along the track, even going so far as to point out small details he notices or little things he remembers Charlie talking about. 

Cas, squished in between the two of them with the top of the Doom Buggy inches above his head, mostly just feels claustrophobic, but he enjoys the ride no less. The Doom Buggy is going fast enough that a breeze ruffles his hair, and he finds humor in the ballroom scene they swiftly pass. 

Dean is not so thrilled, and he can’t seem to grasp Cas’s casual feeling of enjoyment. Dean is terrified. The cobwebs coating objects and candelabras look all too real, floating gently on what must have been an intentional air current; the ghosts, however disjointedly they may dance, seem more real to him than Cas does, even sitting as close to him as he is; the depths of the shadows send goosebumps up his arms the more he thinks about them and what they may hold; and the promise of a ghost going home with them at the end of the ride sends fear branching up from the base of his spine. 

When their Doom Buggy finishes its journey feet away from right back where it began and Dean disembarks after Jack and Cas get off, all he can do is shiver, his limbs stiff. 

Jack fills the air with chatter as they make their way back outside into the afternoon sunshine. Dean squints and shies away from the rays hitting his eyes, suddenly regretting his lack of sunglasses. 

“And did you see the way the spider came down from the ceiling on that rope?  _ So cool _ !” Jack continues, voice rising above those of the other people exiting ahead of them. “The special effects team deserves a raise! The ghosts even looked  _ real _ !” 

“Neat, right?” Charlie agrees, matching pace with Jack as they move back up New Orleans Square towards Fantasyland again. “Do you want to know how they did it?” 

“Yeah!”

“Okay, well, it’s a combination of lighting and mirror effects. Basically…” She launches into a full-scale explanation, hands waving all over the place, at one point pulling up a diagram on her phone. Jack is entranced, drinking in every word and asking questions when Charlie goes too fast or skips over a definition. 

“She’s really animated about this stuff,” Cas says jovially to Dean, nudging his shoulder. He’d let go of Cas’s hand when they boarded the Doom Buggy, but Cas watches him rub his hands on his jeans and knows they’re still sweaty. “Dean? You okay?” 

“Yep,” Dean nods, not looking up from the ground. He doesn’t say anything else. 

“Dean? You sure?”

“Mm-hmm.” Nodding furiously, Dean bites his lip, still staring at his feet. 

“Dean, look at me.” 

Dean looks up, tugging at the sleeves of his plaid shirt. He meets Cas’s eyes, then looks away again quickly. 

“Dean, are you crying?” Cas asks quietly, reaching for his hand. Dean flinches away, holding his hands to his chest and pressing his thumb into the palm of his hand. 

Shaking his head, Dean looks up at Cas again, tears trickling down his face and dripping off his freckled nose. 

“Hey, it’s okay.” Cas puts a hand over Dean’s and gently guides him to the side of the pathway, out of the way of incoming crowds. They’ve just excited New Orleans Square, and are standing under the entrance to Fantasyland. “You’re okay.” 

Dean sniffs, an attempt to get his tears under control, but it doesn’t work. He chokes back a sob and pulls Cas into a hug, weeping into his shoulder. 

“I’m… staining… your shirt,” he cries, lifting his head up from Cas’s shoulder and wiping a hand under his nose. “I’m… sorry.” 

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it,” Cas says soothingly, and Dean buries his head in Cas’s shoulder again, shoulders shaking. “You’re okay. It’s okay.” Cas pats Dean’s back awkwardly and feels in his back pocket for his phone. 

**_holyhell:_ ** _ sos come back to frontierland entrance dean is a mess  _

**_holyhell:_ ** _ but dont poke fun you'll just make it worse ok  _

**_thetrickster:_ ** _ *gasp* we would never!  _

**_holyhell:_ ** _ seriously gabe i’m not joking ive never seen him like this  _

**_theredsunflower:_ ** _ we’re on our way _

**_adam m:_ ** _ what happened?  _

**_holyhell:_ ** _ idk i think it was the ride _

Dean is still wiping tears from his eyes when the rest of the group makes it back to the entrance to Frontierland. Cas gives them all a look of steel, and everyone stays back. 

“Okay, Dean, how’re you feeling?”

“Fine,” Dean says stiffly, acutely aware of the fifteen well-meaning people gathered behind him. 

Charlie is the first to speak up. “If you want, I can tell you how it all works! It’s really nothing more than some mirrors and disco lights, at its core.” 

“Don’t be embarrassed, Dean,” Sam says, and Gabe tacks on that he was terrified of the stretching room, too, so Dean’s not the only one. 

Everyone volunteers a condolence, and then Cas, patting Dean’s back and hoping to god he doesn’t start crying again, makes a suggestion. “How about we do something light, next? Disney’s whole gimmick is fluff, after all, so I’m sure we can find something.” 

Adam opens the Disney Parks app on his phone and scrolls through the list of available attractions. “Guys, you’re not going to believe this.” 

Michael looks over Adam’s shoulder and lets out what can only be described as a guffaw. “There’s no way.” 

“There’s an opening,” Adam begins slowly, reading off his phone screen, “in ten minutes, for eighteen people to have tea with Sleeping Beauty.” 

“Take it,” Claire and Kaia say at once. They fistbump, and Kaia says, “It’s too perfect. Sign us up immediately.” 

Adam does. 

“We’re only a party of seventeen, but they’re taking us anyway and closing the event to anyone else,” he reads, unable to believe their luck. “So basically, we get a private tea with Aurora at three thirty in the afternoon. For free.” 

Dean smiles weakly, and the group erupts in cheers and applause. 

“There he is!” Meg claps, and Charlie grins. 

“Back and better than ever!”

“The Haunted Mansion has nothing against this guy.” Gabriel lightly punches Dean’s arm. 

“A hero for the ages,” Raphael intones, and Jack laughs. 

“Want a churro?” 

“No thanks,” Dean says, with an appreciative smile and nod. “But thanks for the offer.” 

Cas reaches down and takes Dean’s hand. “To tea?” 

“To tea!” the group cheers, fists raised in victory. 

“I’ve never met a princess before!” Jack says excitedly, and Dean laughs and ruffles his hair. 

“Me neither. I hope my manners are up to par.” 

And, with seven minutes left until their tea with Sleeping Beauty began, the gang traveled through Frontierland to Fantasyland, where most definitely real princesses, tiny teacups and saucers, and a plethora of plush cushions scattered about on a polished wood floor awaited them. 

Was Sam destined to ask if they had bigger cups? Perhaps. 

But the bottom line is that Uriel never spilled the beans about Raphael’s picture with Mickey Mouse, and held him only to his souvenir promise. Raphael bought them both an ice cream sandwich, anyway, and they watched the evening’s fireworks from Tomorrowland. 

Claire and Kaia went back to Critter Country for one last Tigger Tail. The fireworks were smaller from there, sure, and the wind blew all the smoke in their direction, but Tigger Tails are a rare delicacy, and both Kaia and Claire thought it was worth it. 

Anna convinced Ruby to take off her leather jacket again when the temperature rose to a suffocating 102 degrees. Ruby kept it around her waist, and when the sun set and she saw Anna shivering, she draped it around Anna’s shoulders. A New Orleans Square balcony outside a restaurant serving gumbo is a perfectly respectable place to watch fireworks from, and that is what they did. 

Donna and Jody had enough time for three more rounds of the Tiki Room, each accompanied by a shared order of Dole Whip. If they could’ve, they would’ve gone a fourth time, but Donna wanted to watch the fireworks. 

Gabriel and Sam swore off cotton candy forever; instead, they had ice cream for dessert from the Main Street parlour where Adam and Michael had earlier suffered the pains of a mishandled ice cream cone. Sam insisted they stand at the back of the Main Street fireworks crowd, since he was so tall, but Gabriel didn’t mind, because that meant he could sit on Sam’s shoulders and see every last spark. 

Meg and Charlie got on the last boat on It’s A Small World, alone, so that Meg could rock it as much as she wanted and Charlie could sing along to the song in every language as loudly as she could. They made it out of Fantasyland just in time to see the fireworks show begin from outside a shop in Frontierland. 

Adam and Michael ate a proper dinner at the Carnation Cafe on Main Street. They sat outside so Michael could watch the last parade of the day. Adam ordered a burger, and after much debate, Michael did too. They managed to stall long enough to order dessert just as the fireworks started. 

And, last but not least, Dean and Cas shared their first kiss standing in the middle of the throng of people waiting for the fireworks in front of the castle, right as the first one burst in the sky; Jack, halfway through his forty first churro and cheering for the fireworks, didn’t notice, but if he had, he would’ve cheered for them, too. 

And they all lived happily ever after. 

Or so the fairytale goes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks so much for reading! i hope the ending was as fluffy as i intended it to be :D

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! comments and kudos make the world go round :)  
> i should update every day w/a new chapter until it’s done   
> thanks again yall!


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